Steel Guard
by Natsuyuki Sera 1412
Summary: When the Straw Hats end up getting stranded for a few days due to a storm, they end up meeting a former marine in trouble with debt. Strangely, she is grateful for their help and when offered a place on Luffy's crew, she gladly takes it to accomplish her dream. But as her past is slowly creeping up on her, she is slowly, but surely, falling for the most lovable Straw Hat of all.
1. Chapter 1

_**WARNING: This story does contain an OC (Original Character) along with an OCxCanon Character (Sanji). If this is NOT to your liking, leave now and forever hold your peace, please.**_

_******If you're all right with OCs, then, please, continue reading if you wish.**_

* * *

It was a stormy day and the Straw Hats had found themselves stuck in Ringo, a country that was known for its tropical fruits and fish. Sadly, the paradise that was meant for chefs was left unexplored by the blond chef of the Straw Hats, much to his disappointment. But he wasn't the only one disappointed at the moment.

"Looks like we're going to be stuck her awhile," Nami sighed, looking out the window at the rain falling down outside.

"It isn't so bad, Nami-san," Brook said, setting down his tea cup. "At least we got stuck somewhere where we can have fun."

Nami looked back over her shoulder, watching Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp root for Zoro as he faced another man in arm wrestling. As soon as Zoro slammed his opponents hand into the table, everyone began cheering loudly.

"At least they're enjoying themselves," Robin chuckled, setting down her empty glass.

"Would you care for another drink, Robin-chan?" Sanji questioned, picking up the glass.

Robin smiled at the chef. "Water would be nice, thank you."

"Oh it's nothing!" Sanji replied, swooning as he walked away towards the bar. Behind the bar counter was a woman (or so he could tell from her curves) with her back towards everyone as she cleaned glasses and stacked them on the shelves.

"Excuse me, Madam," Sanji called, setting the empty glass on the counter, "can I get-" he cut off when he finally got a good look at the woman before him. She was lovely. The woman was most likely Nami's height and age. She had black hair that was tide back into a messy bun with a few loose strands in front of her face from her bangs that has been pushed back. Her deep sea-green eyes were very noticeable along with her pale lips holding a lit cigarette and the cross earrings gracing her earlobes. On the other hand, her clothes were a bit plainer: blue jeans and a dark red flannel that was tide just under her breasts, allowing her stomach to be seen.

"Something you need?" the woman asked the stunned man (whose nose was just beginning to bleed).

"Yo, Zetsumei!"

The woman looked past Sanji and over to the group of men having their arm wrestling contest. "What?! Can't you see I'm dealing with something! I have a business to run here!"

"Oh come on!" a large man laughed, nudging his friend in the side. "This guy here needs to face the 'Golden Champion'!"

Zoro smirked. "Golden Champion? Sound fun, I'll take him on."

"This guy won't even stand a chance against Zoro!" Chopper chimed. Luffy and Usopp both nodded in agreement.

The woman, named Zetsumei, chuckled, setting down the glass and rag that she had in her hands. "Fine, fine." The woman walked around the counter, telling Sanji to wait a bit before she could get to him (which he didn't mind). The only thing Sanji really found odd was the metallic noise her heard when the woman walked.

"Okay," Zetsumei said, stretching and sitting down in the chair, "let's get this over with." She then rested her elbow on the table and held out her hand.

At first, the four Straw Hats were surprised, but soon Zoro (while the others remained shocked) smirked and joined hands with her.

"I have no complaints," Zoro said.

"Fair warning, Kid," a man laughed, resting a hand on Zoro's shoulder. "Zets has broken a few hands."

"We don't call her the golden champion for nothin'," another laughed.

Zoro chuckled confidently. "I don't think this is going to take long."

Zetsumei scoffed at him. "You're quite confident. Tell ya what, if you can beat me, than you and your crew won't have to pay for anything."

"Wait," Usopp said, "our meal would be free?" He got a nod in reply.

"Awesome!" Luffy chimed. "That means more meat!"

"And more booze," Zoro laughed.

"You're not drinking this place dry!" Sanji shouted, finally snapping out of his trance. "And no more meat, Luffy! You've already eaten enough!"

"Oh come on!" Luffy whined.

"Can we just get this over with?" Zetsumei asked. "I have a bar to run."

A nearby man began counting down and right on the word 'go' both Zetsumei and Zoro began trying to slam each other's hand onto the table. Strangely, neither looked like they had moved. Their strength was equal, for the time being.

"Wow…" Chopper, Usopp, and Luffy shouted, watching as Zoro and Zetsumei struggled to decide a winner.

"I would expect no less from _the _Roronoa Zoro," Zetsumei groaned, trying her best to slam his hand against the table. Sadly, she having much more trouble than she anticipated, even with her power.

"I'm surprised how strong you are," Zoro said, smirking. "But you're still far too-" Zoro cut off when his arm began bending back the other way.

"What was that?" Zetsumei said, laughing.

The match was suddenly put on hold when the doors to the bar suddenly slammed open.

Zetsumei jumped to her feet, leaving the Straw Hats wondering what was going on.

"There's the beauty I've been looking for!" the man that walked in chimed: a middle aged man who had short brown hair and stubble on his chin. He wore a navy blue jacket that rested on his shoulder and gray shirt. Ripped black jeans dressed his legs with recently polished boots gracing his feet. This man was Retek.

"Zetsumei, dear," Retek said, skipping up to the woman, "how have you been?"

"Why are you here?" Zetsumei growled, not even taking Retek's question into consideration. "As you can see, I'm kind of busy with customers."

"Right, right," Retek said, nodding, "I know how busy you can be running your father's bar and everything, but"-Retek put his on Zetsumei's shoulder-"I just came to get the money you owe me."

Zetsumei shrugged off Retek's hand and glared. "I already paid you all the money I owe you." Pretty soon, every man in the bar pulled out a weapon, shocking Luffy and the others (and making a few cower). "Now, get out."

"Whoa there chick-a-dee," Retek said, holding up his hands like he was offended. "No need to be so violent."

"After what you did last time?" Zetsumei snapped. "There's no way I'm letting you get any more money out of me."

"I don't think you have a choice, Zetsumei," Retek said. "You keep forgetting about your debt, you know the one you got after your 'accident'?" Zetsumei's face paled. "Now, either pay up or-" before Retek could even grip Zetsumei's shoulder again, his hand was snatched by Sanji who stood between him and Zetsumei.

"I believe she asked you to leave," Sanji said, giving a rather terrifying glare.

Retek took his hand back and looked down at Sanji. "And who are you?"

"A gentleman who couldn't just stand by and watch a young woman get picked on by a bastard like you."

Retek snarled at Sanji's reply. He looked back to Zetsumei. "I'll be back tomorrow for my money." Retek gave one last glare to Sanji and then walked out, disappearing into the night's storm.


	2. Chapter 2

"You're a marine?!" Luffy, Brook, Usopp, and Chopper screamed, faces paling as much as they could.

"_Was _a marine," Zetsumei said, narrowing his eyes at the group. She looked back to the glass in her hand, cleaning it once again.

"What happened to make you quit?" Nami asked, leaning against the counter.

Zetsumei stopped cleaning her glass for a moment, running through her thoughts before once again moving. "No reason that I would like to explain." Zetsumei then turned her back to the Straw Hats and placed the clean glass on the shelf with its other counterparts.

"Then would you mind explaining who this Retek dude is?" Zoro snapped, only to get bonked on the head by Sanji.

"Don't be so rude when asking a lady a question!" the chef shouted.

"Retek's a debt collector," a nearby man said. This man was Max, a large man that had short black hair. He wore a black and white striped shirt with blue jeans and brown boots, something that stood out in a crowd. He was also one of the men Zoro defeat in his arm wrestling matches.

"Debt collector?" Luffy questioned, turning his head towards Max. "Why is a debt collector coming for Himeii*?"

"It's Zetsumei!" Sanji and Zetsumei shouted at the pirate captain, making him scratch his head in confusion.

"He's been coming around for quite a while now," another man, Marcus, said. He scratched his brown haired head and looked towards Max. "Ever since Zetsumei opened the bar again, right?"

"That's right," Max said, nodding to his friend.

"You have debt?" Nami questioned, looking to Zetsumei.

Zetsumei scoffed. "I don't owe that man anything…not anymore."

"That wasn't what he was saying," Usopp said, crossing his arms.

Zetsumei raised her head, looking at each Straw Hat squarely. "He's a cheat, it's what he does." Zetsumei looked down to the next glass in her hand.

"What was the debt from?" Robin questioned, resting her chin on her palm.

"My father was a large gambler before he passed," Zetsumei answered. "On top of that, he got a loan to make this place"-she motioned to the place around her-"it wasn't much, but it was enough to leave me to look after his debt when he passed."

"How much?" Zoro asked.

"More than all your bounties combined, I'm sure." Zetsumei turned her back to them, placing the next clean glass on the shelf.

"Let's see…" Luffy mumbled, counting on his fingers. "400,000,000 plus 120,000,000 plus 16,000,000 plus…" He continued to run off the numbers, his face slowly turning more grimace as he continued.

"It's 800,000,050 beri," Sanji answered quickly.

"800,000,050?!" everyone shouted, staring at the chef, shocked.

"Now add another 99,999,950 beri to that," Zetsumei said, turning around and resting her hands on the counter.

Luffy and the others began counting on their fingers, slowly realizing just how much Zetsumei was talking about here. "900,000,000 beri?!" Zetsumei nodded.

"That's not even including the money from-" Max was suddenly cut off when Zetsumei glared at him. "Ah, sorry, Zets…"

"Money from what?" Nami asked, looking back and forth.

"Nothing you need to-" Zetsumei cut off when she suddenly lost all support in her left knee, making her fall a bit. Luckily, her grip on the counter kept her standing. Instead of looking worried like the Straw Hats were, she sighed. "Damn thing always gives out at the _perfect _times…" Zetsumei rolled her eyes, ignoring any questioning looks from the pirate crew, and limped around the counter, only to stop when an arm wrapped around her waist and helped her steady herself.

"I can walk by myself," Zetsumei said, glancing at Sanji.

"And I can't just stand by when a woman is in need of assistance," Sanji replied, helping her over to a nearby table. When Zetsumei was safely seated in a chair, he stepped aside.

Luffy, Chopper, Usopp, Zoro, and Brook's jaws all dropped at seeing the calm demeanor Sanji was holding. _He's not being a pervert! _they all thought. Usopp and Chopper were soon crying tears of joy, feeling like they had finally seen a lifelong dream come true.

"Max!" Zetsumei called, making the large man jump. "Get my wrench!" Max soon bolted off towards the back, making the confused looks deepen on the faces of the pirate crew.

"Why do you need a wrench to-" Usopp stopped talking when Zetsumei began rolling up her left pant leg, revealing the shiny frame metal.

"AWESOME!" Chopper, Luffy, and Usopp chimed, eyes twinkling as they looked at the amazing metal appendage.

"Got it, Zets!" Max chimed, walking back in and handing the wrench to Zetsumei who took it without giving a thank you.

"Wait a minute," Nami spoke up, just as Zetsumei began tightening a bolt on the side of her knee, "this is the reason your debt increased?"

"I can see why," Zoro said, crossing his arms.

"This thing wasn't even worth all that money." Zetsumei stopped for a moment and looked at her leg. "This thing's a piece of junk, always has been. It might look amazing, but that's only because of all the effort and money I've put in trying to fix it." She sighed. "Even then this thing gives out every so often."

"Maybe we could help," Luffy said, smiling. Zetsumei looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Usopp's great with machines, and so is Franky, maybe they could help."

Usopp crossed his arms and bit his lip, looking at the metal leg. "Hm…I don't know… I think Franky would know more on this stuff than me."

"Great!" Luffy said. "Then it's settled"-Luffy snickered and gave his usual large grin-"we'll help Soumei* out!"

"It's Zetsumei!" the group shouted at him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Little note I forgot to mention:**

**Himeii means "soft rice".**

**Soumei means "Great Blue Sea" (get it? *wink wink*).**

**Himei mean "inscription" like on a tombstone.**

* * *

Zetsumei looked around, quite amazed at the sight of the Thousand Sunny's kitchen (due to the rain they were stuck indoors). The only problem she has was that she wasn't able to enjoy the sight on her own two feet. Instead, she had to enjoy the sight in the arms of the blonde chef that insisted on carrying her.

"You can put me down now," Zetsumei said, looking to the chef with a somewhat tired and unamused look.

"Not until I know you are safe a sound!" Sanji said, nodding devotedly.

The doors to the kitchen opened and Usopp walked in with Franky right behind him, both drenched from the rain.

"Found him," Usopp said, shivering.

"I figured you guys would take a while to come back," Franky said before noticing Zetsumei when Sanji had finally let her stand to her feet. "Wow! Who's the babe?"

"This 'babe'," Zetsumei said, narrowing her eyes at Franky, "has a name…"

"And her name is Zetsumei," Sanji snarled, giving a rather menacing glare at Franky for his rude comment.

"Anyway," Luffy said, "we need you to take a look at Himeii's"-everyone shouted the correction-"leg."

Franky lifted an eyebrow. "What for?"

"She has a metallic leg," Usopp sneezed, snuggling into his blanket Chopper had given him, "and the knee joint keep giving out on her."

Franky slowly nodded, sort of understanding what's going on.

"We were hoping you can fix it," Nami said. She looked towards Zetsumei. "Zetsumei, can you-"

"Sure," Zetsumei sighed. Instead of bending down and rolling up the pant leg again like earlier, she unzipped them and pulled them off. This made most of the men blush and made two perverted gentlemen very happy at seeing her black underwear and smooth legs (or leg).

Franky whistled, but not at the half naked woman in front of him. He had whistled at her metal leg, surprised at what he saw.

"Zetsumei!" Nami shouted. "I didn't tell you to strip!"

"You asked me to show my leg," Zetsumei said, resting her pants on the table. "So, I showed him."

"But was it necessary to flash your underwear?" Zoro questioned, of course looking down.

"Don't look at her idiot!" Sanji shouted, handing his jacket to Zetsumei.

"Speak for yourself!" Zoro shouted right back. This ensued the usual fight between the two, which was completely ignored by the others.

Zetsumei sat down, laying Sanji's jacket over her lap and propping up her leg on a chair. She thought it was kind of him to his jacket to her, but she would have been all right sitting there in her underwear. It's not like she was exactly shy about it.

"So?" Luffy said, looking to Franky as he examined Zetsumei's leg. "What do you think?"

Franky frowned, scowling at the piece of metal. "The thing's a piece of junk, no offence."

"None taken," Zetsumei said, leaning against her palm.

"It's out dated," Franky said looking to the others, "at this point there aren't any parts that I could use to repair it." Franky sighed. "If I were to do anything I would have to build it from scratch with a new material."

"How long would that take?" Zoro asked.

Franky grumbled. "A day or two maybe."

"Great!" Luffy cheered, smiling at Zetsumei. "We'll be able to get you a new leg, Soumei!"

Zetsumei didn't smile at Luffy, let alone give a thank you to him. She wasn't so sure about Luffy and his crew (from what she read in the papers). In her short time of being a marines she knew that the dumbest of pirates could turn to be the smartest. But, if he was offering to help, what else could she lose that she hasn't already?

Zetsumei stood to her feet, putting back on her pants and throwing Sanji's jacket back at him. After that, she turned her back towards the Straw Hats.

"Where are you going, Zetsumei?" Chopper asked.

"Back to the bar," Zetsumei said. "I don't have time to be wasting around here, waiting. If I plan on getting Retek off my back then-"

"Let us handle him," Luffy said.

Zetsumei raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Sure." Luffy flashed his usual grin. "We can't just sit around while this happens." Luffy turned serious. "But you have to promise me that you'll join my crew."

"Are you crazy?!" everyone shouting at Luffy. They actually put into consideration that she used to be a marine, which made them wonder if they could even trust her in the first place. What would happen if she turned on them? What if she was lying about quitting and this was all a ploy to catch them?

"All right…" Zetsumei said, shrugging, which shocked everyone even more. Little did they knew that she had an alternative motive for her answer.


	4. Chapter 4

Zetsumei wasn't a hundred percent sure about what was going on in front of her, but she knew one thing: She had never seen many people who eat as much as Luffy and his crew did, nor did she see anyone drink as much as they did. She couldn't believe her eyes at everything going into their mouths. It was like their mouths were black holes.

"Zetsumei?"

Zetsumei snapped out of her trance in order to turn her head towards the voice. It was the Doctor, Tony Tony Chopper, who was calling her. "Are you all right? You've barely touched your meal."

Zetsumei opened her mouth, about to say that the meal was quite superb, until Sanji came walking back in with another plate. "Is it not to your liking, Zetsumei-chan? I can make you something else if you want."

"There's no need for that," Zetsumei answered firmly. "I'm fine, just don't have much of an appetite…" Zetsumei pushed her plate away, only for it to soon get grabbed by Luffy and poured into his mouth. Zetsumei simply sighed, standing to her feet and grabbing the empty plates on the table while Sanji was busy yelling at Zoro to stop drinking all the alcohol he had just gotten. After grabbing the empty plates, Zetsumei walked towards the kitchen and placed them in the sink, starting to clean them.

Sanji stopped arguing with Zoro for a moment and looked back over his shoulder to the kitchen, along with the others. "Ah, Zetsumei-chan, you don't have to-"

"I don't mind," Zetsumei answered, not even bothering to turn around. She set a clean dish aside and started on another, not saying anything else to the Straw Hats.

"But, Zetsumei," Usopp asked, looking back over his chair, "you sure you're all right standing right now?"

Zetsumei froze for a moment, her hand tightening on the plate and rag she was holding. After a moment, she started cleaning again. "Yeah…"

"Well," Franky spoke up, breaking the silence as he stood, "I guess I'll get started working."

Usopp snapped out of his trance and looked towards Franky. "Mind if I help?"

"The more the merrier!" Franky laughed, walking out, before realizing he forgot something. He peeked back into the room. "Oh, right, Zetsumei, how tall are you?"

"168 cm…" Zetsumei answered calmly.

Franky nodded and soon left again with Usopp following behind.

Nami yawned loudly. "Well, I think I'm going to head off to bed. I'll see you all in the morning." Nami then left with a small final wave towards the others.

"Goodnight Nami-san!" Sanji chimed loudly, making a few of the others flinch.

As soon as Nami left, everyone else began filing out of the room also until only Zetsumei and Sanji were left in the silence.

Sanji turned his head to the side, looking towards Zetsumei who hadn't said a word since Franky asked for her height. She didn't talk much to them, but for being a former marine that wasn't saying much. He knew she didn't trust them, why would she? But he had hoped that if she was going to be a part of their nakama she would learn to be more open to them.

"Are you just going to stand there staring or are you going to help?" Sanji jumped when Zetsumei suddenly spoke, not even turning around to look at him. Of course, Sanji stopped staring when she suddenly spoke and grabbed the rest of the dirty dishes from the table. He carried them over to the sink and set them in the water. After that, he stood there, next to Zetsumei, cleaning the dishes with her in silence. Now that he stood next to her, he could see that she was indeed 5 feet 6 inches, which was five inches shorter than him.

"I've been wondering, why are you still putting up with Retek?" Sanji asked, glancing over to the girl when he couldn't take the silence anymore. She didn't answer him, then again he didn't expect her to. But from the atmosphere she was sending off, she wasn't too happy with him asking.

After a moment, Sanji was surprised when Zetsumei answered. "Paying a debt." Of course, her answer wasn't exactly what he was looking for, but she did answer his question.

"How did you get your debt?" Sanji asked, hoping to get a bit more information on the woman.

"My father was quite the gambler," Zetsumei answered, giving the suggestion that her father was the reason behind her debt.

"And you got your leg from Retek, right?" Sanji asked again. This time Zetsumei didn't say anything. "How did it happen?"

"How did _what _happen?" Zetsumei grumbled, setting aside another dish.

"How did you lose your leg?" Sanji finally asked.

Zetsumei stopped moving for a moment, as if searching for something she could say. After a moment, she began cleaning again, but she failed to answer Sanji's question. So, he asked another.

"You know a lot of people," Sanji began, "why didn't you have someone else take over the bar?"

Zetsumei was silent for a moment. "I promised a friend…"

Sanji stopped cleaning for a moment and looked to Zetsumei, hearing a tint of sadness in her voice. "Zetsumei-chan?"

"Quit calling me that," Zetsumei snarled, bouncing back from her sudden set back.

Sanji blinked at Zetsumei for a moment before saying with a smile, "Ah, sorry. Is it all right if I call you Zetsumei then?"

Zetsumei set aside another plate and went for another, not speaking yet again. Sanji guessed that the answer was yes seeing as she didn't snap at him.

Sanji looked over Zetsumei noticing she was leaning towards her right a bit more. She was also shifting her weight a lot, suggesting that her metal leg was bothering her.

"Zetsumei," Sanji spoke up, "if your leg is bothering you, then maybe you should sit down."

"I'm fine," Zetsumei said, continuing to clean dishes by his side.

Sanji smiled. "I can handle cleaning di-"

"I said I'm fine!" Zetsumei snapped, gripping the plate so hard that it shattered. She cursed, gripping her hand and stepping away from the counter. On reflex, Sanji stopped what he was doing and quickly grabbed her hand, looking it over.

"We should get this treated before it gets any worse," Sanji said, grabbing a rag and putting it against her hand to stop the bleeding. "I'll go grab the-"

"It's just a scratch," Zetsumei said, taking her hand back.

"That's not a scratch, Zetsumei!" Sanji protested. "It's best if we-"

"Back off!" Zetsumei snapped, glaring at Sanji coldly. "Just shut up and mind your own damn business!" Zetsumei let out a deep breath, looking away, before clicking her tongues and turning towards the door. "I'm going home…" Before Sanji could protest, or even apologize for angering her, she was gone.

Sanji stood there, looking at the door. What had be done to get her so pissed off? Was it something he said? Was he asking to many questions? Either way, it was clear she didn't like any of them, especially him.

* * *

_Next clear morning:_

"Where's Soumei?" Luffy asked when walking into the dining room for breakfast.

"She left yesterday," Usopp answered. "Right after Sanji pissed her off."

"I didn't piss her off!" Sanji snapped. "What else was I supposed to do when I see a woman hurt herself?"

Before anymore arguing could continue, there was shouting from outside making all the Straw Hats stop what they were doing and run to deck. That when they saw Max and Marcus running towards their ship.

"You two are from the bar yesterday," Nami said, seeing Man and Marcus down on deck.

"Why are you two here?" Luffy asked.

Max caught his breath. "Ya have to come quickly, Straw Hats!"

"Why?" Luffy asked again, quite confused.

"It's Zets!" the two men shouted. "Retek got to her!"

That was all the Straw Hats needed to hear before they were all running off with Max and Marcus towards the bar.

* * *

**I hope no one's OOC, I'm trying not to make them that way. Anyway, hope ya liked and I'll see ya all next time!**


	5. Chapter 5

"Zetsumei!"

The Straw Hats opened the doors to the bar, only to be met with the devastating sight of the place in shambles. Bottles and glasses had been shattered all over the ground; tables and chairs had been knocked over, some even broken; a few bodies of knocked out men were laying on the ground too, which really got the Straw Hats wondering what went down.

"Where's Soumei?" Luffy asked, looking around with everyone else.

"I'm right here…"

Everyone looked up and saw Zetsumei's hand popped out from behind the bar, waving before using it to help her stand to her feet. She was battered, badly, with a bruise under her right eye. A gash was on her forehead and few other cuts and bruises on her arms, other than that she was all right.

"You all right, Zets?" Max asked, walking over to the woman. She held up her hand, suggesting she didn't need help, and walked past him.

"I'll be all right…" Zetsumei replied as she picked up a chair, setting it up right, and then taking a seat in it. She pulled out a cigarette box next and began smoking calmly, as if she wasn't even injured.

"What happened in here?" Usopp asked, turning over a harshly beaten man. He soon flinched back with Nami when the man suddenly moved, or twitched.

"I think it's clear as to what happened here," Zetsumei replied, leaning forward and motioning around with the lit cigarette between her fingers. She put the cigarette back in her mouth and took the rag Chopper handed to her to wipe the blood off of her forehead. She pulled it away for a moment, only to see there was more blood on it than there was running down her face.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Zoro asked, crossing his arms.

"For your information," Zetsumei snapped, "I'm not as weak as you all take me for."

"Does that mean you took out all these men by yourself, Zetsumei-san?" Brook asked.

"Yeah…" Zetsumei said before flinching when Chopper suddenly touched her wounds.

"Ah, sorry…" Chopper said, smiling a bit before getting back to work on her (which she was silently thankful for).

"There has to be at least ten guys in here," Robin said, looking to all the bodies.

"That's impossible," Zoro chuckled with a smirk. "I don't care how strong you are, there's no way you could have taken out ten guys simultaneously."

Zetsumei stood to her feet. "Wanna try me?"

"Uh, I don't think this is a good idea, guys," Usopp said, seeing that devious smile on Zoro's face. He then covered his eyes when Zoro suddenly threw a punch, but uncovered his eyes to see Zoro on the ground with his arm behind his back in what looked like a _very _painful pretzel.

"Wow…" Luffy said, tilting his head towards the ground to look at Zoro's pained expression. "Not just anyone can take down Zoro in a matter of seconds…"

"I wasn't even ready!" Zoro protested.

"Sure you weren't…" Zetsumei released Zoro, letting him get back to his feet. Once he was standing, the two glared at each other and continued to glare even when everyone was trying to discuss what to do with Retek. That was until the man himself came waltzing into the room.

Retek sighed and shook his head. "I knew I should have hired better hands…"

"Get out of here," Zetsumei demanded, glaring at Retek now.

Retek looked at Zetsumei and smiled cheekily. "Is that really how you treat your customers, Zets?" Retek picked up a bottle and looked it over, only to throw it away because it was empty.

"I said get out!" Zetsumei shouted, stepping forward before she suddenly stopped, gripping her side, just below breast on the left side. Nami was quickly at Zetsumei's side, helping her stand to her feet as Chopper quickly checked to see what was wrong. Telling from the bruising, she had most likely broke a rib of two when she had gotten into the fight.

"Oh," Retek chuckled, making Zetsumei glare at him again, "I guess it was a pretty good idea sending those men after you. Looks like you aren't as 'invincible' as people think you are. If I had known this I would have tried killing you a long time ago. Who knew you were just as worthless as every other-" Retek was suddenly kicked in the face and was sent through the door, breaking them.

"Shut your god-damn mouth!" Sanji snapped, glaring coldly at Retek. "I won't stand idly by while you run your insults at an innocent woman like that."

Retek chuckled, spitting out a tooth. "Well, then you don't know her very well if you think she's innocent." Retek stood to his feet, smiling. "That woman is _far _from innocent. She's-" Retek was kicked again.

"I think Sanji's snapped…" Chopper stuttered, shivering a bit at the sight of Sanji beating the shit out of Retek at the moment.

"Well," Brook said, "an injured woman is involved."

"Chopper," Luffy called, walking over to where the Doctor and Nami had sat down to take care of Zetsumei, "is Soumei all right?"

Chopper opened his mouth, but Zetsumei spoke instead. "I'm fine, just a few broken bones and such, nothing that can't be healed." Zetsumei smiled as she looked towards the broken door. "Him on the other hand…" Zetsumei couldn't help but feel the slight satisfaction at seeing Retek get beaten to a pulp by the chef.


	6. Chapter 6

Sanji straightened his collar, giving a small huff as he peered down at the pattered, and slightly broken, body of Retek. He _might _have went a bit overboard, but he wasn't complaining, the man deserved what he got. But Sanji figured the man would be a bit more of a challenge, sadly he had set his expectations too high.

"Damn…" Luffy pouted, crossing his arms. "I was hoping to get a hit in or two… Why'd you have to defeat him so fast, Sanji?"

"Sorry…" Sanji replied, walking back into the bar as he pulled out a new cigarette. "I had beaten him before I knew it."

"How are you feeling, Soumei?" Luffy chimed, ignoring Sanji's answer. He turned to look at Zetsumei as Chopper treated her head, having just treated the large discoloration on her side.

"I'm fine," Zetsumei snarled, pushing Chopper's hoof away from her forehead. She stood to her feet, wincing a bit at the sudden stinging on her side, but that didn't stop her from cleaning up her bar.

"Uh, Zets," Max spoke up, following Zetsumei as she picked up broken glasses and bottles off the floor, "I don't think ya should be walking around like this."

"Yeah, Zets," Marcus said also, "just sit down and-" Zetsumei simply had to turn around and glare at him before he was silent.

Zetsumei looked up when she felt a hand on her shoulder. There she saw Robin smiling at her calmly and kindly. "He's right. You've been through a lot and should sit down. We'll take care of clean up."

"I'll do the sweeping!" Luffy chimed, jumping up and down with a smile.

"I'll fix the broken stuff," Usopp said, smirking as he twirled a hammer in his hands.

Zetsumei could only blink, watching the Straw Hats begin working on fixing up her bar. Even Marcus and Max were joining them, which really surprised her. Zetsumei couldn't understand why the Straw Hats were willing to help her out so much: helping fix her trashed bar, building her a new leg, letting her sail with them even though they knew nothing about her. Maybe Luffy was as much of an idiot as she figured he was.

"Zetsumei-chan~!" Zetsumei flinched when she heard Sanji's voice chiming her name. She looked over her shoulder again and glared at him, which made him stop dead in his tracks. "Ah, sorry, forgot."

"What is it you want?" Zetsumei simply said.

"I was wondering where your kitchen was."

Zetsumei motioned a thumb back over her shoulder, towards the half broken door near the bar. "Through that door… Why?"

Sanji widely grinned. "Well, once everyone's done they're going to be hungry, right? Plus I know just the recipe to make you feel better."

Zetsumei's expression changed into a rather confused one at the most. She stared at Sanji for a moment, wondering why his cheerful and lovably grin freaked her out so much. But at some point, Zetsumei found her words again. "Yeah, sure, use it all ya want."

Sanji gave Zetsumei one last smile before walking away and towards the kitchen.

* * *

Sanji looked around the kitchen searching for the particular spice he wanted, but there was no sign on it in Zetsumei's kitchen. He had checked all the brown colored cabinets and yet there was still no sign of it. Luckily, it wasn't a necessary spice for the meal, but it did add a bit of texture that Sanji liked in his cooking.

Sanji crossed his arms, watching as the meat took it's time cooking. He remembered it cooking a lot faster, but he guessed the problem was either the skillet he was using of the flame from the burner wasn't as strong as the one used on the Sunny. Either way, he could make do.

Due to this slow process, Sanji found himself looking around. That's when he noticed the slightly ajar door across the room. Sanji's curiosity go the better of him, even if he knew it was wrong, and he found himself walking over to the door, and soon opening the door to see what was inside. His eyes widened at the sight of a child's room, a boy's to be exact: blue bed sheets in a crib and another small bed with red sheets, old toys sitting on the ground, and pictures of animals on the walls. On top of all that there was a book shelf stuck to the left wall that had a lot of learning books and fairy tales. Sanji didn't understand why there was a children's room in Zetsumei's house, but before he could even look around to figure out the answer, the door was suddenly shut by Zetsumei who had come up behind him.

"It's not nice to snoop," Zetsumei said, he head looking at the ground and her voice having a bit of a sad tone.

"S-Sorry…" Sanji said, watching as Zetsumei walked away towards the kitchen.

"I'm sorry about the flame," Zetsumei said, forgetting everything about the room. She stuffed her hands in her pockets, looking at the skillet. "The thing has been around for a few years and has been through a lot."

"I don't mind," Sanji said, walking back into the kitchen.

Silence soon took over, like it usually did when the two were alone. That was until Sanji spoke up again. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," Zetsumei said, crossing her arms, "but your doctor keeps bugging me about resting."

"He's right though, you shouldn't be standing around and working."

"I think I'll live," Zetsumei said before sighing. "Look, Mr. Chef-"

"Call me Sanji, please."

Zetsumei looked up and to the smiling chef, only to sneer at him and his smile. "Black Leg"-Sanji immediately began frowning until Zetsumei went back on topic-"look…I'm sorry about snapping yesterday. It's just…" Zetsumei looked away, closing her eyes as she faced the ground. She wasn't the best at making apologies.

"It's all right," Sanji replied, getting back to his cooking. "I was a bit too persistent. I should be the one apologizing for angering you in such a way."

There was silence once again.

Sanji set down the spatula for a moment, taking a deep breath before asking what had been on his mind. "Zetsumei?"

"Yeah?" Zetsumei replied, looking back over her shoulder before she left.

Sanji looked at her. "Do you have children?"

Zetsumei stared at him for a few moments, but looked away when she began walking away. "No…no I don't…" Zetsumei then left though the door, leaving the chef even more confused.


	7. Chapter 7

Night had fallen and by this time the bar was back to its old self, maybe even better than its old self. At the moment, everyone was celebrating about Retek's defeat, which meant celebrating Zetsumei's freedom. Everyone was drinking and laughing, having a grand old time, except Zetsumei who stayed silently behind the bar cleaning glasses and taking orders like she usually did. Strangely the Straw Hats weren't enjoying any of the merriment (except Brook who was playing violin with a few other people and Sanji who decided to stay in the kitchen) and were staying at the bar, trying to get to know their new crew member.

"All right," Zoro said, pointing a finger at Zetsumei, "before you even think about coming with us, we need to know you won't be running back to the marines!"

Zetsumei didn't say anything, but simply looked at Zoro with an eyebrow raised. She could see why he was concerned that she would double cross them, but she couldn't see any reason to when she needed them more than they knew.

"Lighten up, Zoro!" Luffy laughed, grinning widely. "Soumei would never do that!"

"When are you going to get her name right, Luffy?" Nami snapped.

"Its fine," Zetsumei spoke up. "I've gotten used to it by now…" _Plus I have absolutely no hope for this idiot… _Zetsumei silently thought. She set down a glass on the counter and picked up another. "But if your only concern is me running back to the marines to snitch on you, then I wouldn't be too concerned."

"Why did you leave the marines anyway, Zetsumei?" Chopper asked, swinging his short legs back and forth as he leaned against the counter.

Zetsumei looked up for a brief moment, looking at each Straw Hat before looking back to the glass in her hands. "I have my reasons…"

"See?" Zoro snarled. "How are we supposed to trust her if she won't even tell us anything?" Zoro looked to Luffy. "Why'd you even ask her to join us, Luffy?!"

Luffy smiled at Zoro, light hearted like usual. "She just seemed really cool."

"That's it?!" Usopp, Zoro, and Chopper shouted.

Zetsumei looked up, listening to the group bicker about Luffy's reasons for letting her come along. Of course, she had no objection.

"Hey, Soumei." Zetsumei looked up to meet Luffy's face really close to her's. "Saying as you were a marine, did you know Garp?"

Zetsumei pushed Luffy's face away from her's and answered as she bit down on her cigarette, "Yeah, I knew that crazy old man." Zetsumei looked back to the glass in her hands. "I worked a long side him for a few years, before quitting that is."

"When did you quit?" Nami asked.

"About three years ago…"

"Wait a minute…" Luffy said, his eyebrows meeting in the middle. "How old _are _you, Soumei?"

Zetsumei looked up, looking completely serious as she said, "I'm twenty-nine."

"WHAT?!" everyone shouted, leaning up against the counter.

Zetsumei glared at all of them. "Problem?"

"No," everyone stuttered, feeling slight shivers down their spines.

"I didn't know you were that old, Zetsumei," Chopper said. "I thought you were Zoro and Sanji's age…"

Zetsumei continued to clean the glass in her hands. "I look younger than I really am…runs in the family I guess."

"When did you first join the marines?" Usopp asked.

"I was sixteen when I first joined the marines," Zetsumei said, setting down another glass. Zetsumei didn't see the harm in the questions, as long as they didn't ask anything too personal that she didn't want to talk about.

"That's kind of young, isn't it?" Nami asked, tilting her head.

"They had their reasons for letting me in," Zetsumei answered calmly.

"And what would those be?" Usopp asked.

"My guess would be because of your Devil Fruit ability and your high intelligence, right?" Robin said, finally speaking up after listening for quite some time.

"I guess you can say those were the reasons…"

"You're a Devil Fruit user?!" the men shouted, all leaning against the bar counter again.

Zetsumei sighed, grumbling some complaints under her breath before grinding her cigarette butt in the ash tray and pulling out a new one. "Yeah, I'm a devil fruit user, but it's not a bit deal."

"What's your power?" Luffy asked enthusiastically.

"How'd you get it?" Chopper asked also, just as enthusiastically as Luffy.

Zetsumei glared at them both, but the two didn't back down. "I have the power of Suto Suto no Mi…."

"Strike Strike fruit?" Zoro scoffed. "That makes absolutely no-" Zoro cut off when he was suddenly punched in the face, knocking him off his chair and onto the ground.

"The Suto Suto no Mi allows me to make accurate and affective hits on any target I want," Zetsumei said, smirking down at Zoro. "It also enhances my strength considerably."

"Meaning?" Luffy asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"Meaning she may very well be stronger than you, Luffy," Robin chuckled with a smile.

"Really?" Luffy said. He soon smiled again. "Awesome! I knew I was right to ask you to come with us!"

"Well," Nami said, "now that the storm's past, we can leave right away in the morning."

"Awesome!" Usopp and Luffy cheered, wrapping an arm around each other's shoulder as they clinked glasses.

"Settle down guys!"

Luffy and Usopp were soon bonked on the head by Sanji who had finally made his appearance in the bar.

"It's hard enough for Zetsumei to take care of everyone else in here!" Sanji scolded. "So, knock off all the questions and settle down a little."

"Their better than a few others in this room," Zetsumei chuckled with a light smile as she looked towards the other drunks in the room.

The Straw Hats blinked blankly at Zetsumei, all surprised to see her smiling. Once Zetsumei saw this, her smile immediately faded and she was glaring once again. "What?"

"That's the first time we've seen you smile," Usopp, Chopper, and Luffy all replied.

"Oh, Zetsumei-chan!" Sanji swooned. "Your smile is so lovely!" Sanji then hugged Zetsumei. Zetsumei flinched, which made Sanji immediately let go and apologize for hurting her.

"Oi, Zets!" Max shouted from across the room, waving an empty mug. "Bring us another round!"

"You get it!" Zetsumei shouted, walking away from Sanji and the others. "You already drank everything I have behind the counter!"

"Oh, come on, Zetsu!" Marcus said, leaning against Max with a wide grin.

Zetsumei grumbled, waving a hand before turning her back to Max and Marcus and heading towards the back door. "Fine…" Zetsumei stopped in front of the door and looked towards Sanji. "Black Leg, make sure they don't burn the place down." Zetsumei opened the door, walking into the back, mumbling, "Damn drunks…"

Zetsumei made her way through the kitchen, all the way to the back door leading to the cellar she kept the alcohol in. Once she was in there, she immediately grabbed a box of liquor and got it off its shelf, but before she walked away she had noticed the small box nearby.

"I thought this was in a better place…" Zetsumei mumbled, setting down the box of liquor and reaching towards the small box. She picked up the box and carried it along with the box of liquor out the door towards the kitchen.

When Zetsumei was in the kitchen, she set down the liquor and small box and stared at the box for a moment. What was she going to do with it? Take it with her or just leave it here? Maybe it was about time she burned the damn thing.

Zetsumei took off the lid of the box and reached inside, pulling out the white jacket with gold and blue ornaments and a black letter for 'Justice' written on the back. The thing was old, older than Zetsumei thought it was, and you could tell just by looking at all the rips and tears in it.

"Zetsumei?"

Zetsumei quickly put the jacket back in the box and looked back over her shoulder to see Chopper smiling at her. "Something you need, Doctor?"

"I figured since you're injured you'll be needing a hand," Chopper said.

Zetsumei gave a small smile and nodded. "Thanks for the offer, Doc, but I can manage." Zetsumei put the lid back on the box she was looking at and quickly grabbed the box of liquor again and began walking back to the bar with Chopper behind her, drawing no questions about the box she was looking at.

* * *

_Next Morning:_

Zetsumei looked around one last time at her home before walking out the door and into the bar where everyone was waiting.

"You ready?" Nami asked, putting her hands on her hips and smiling.

"Ready as I'll ever be…" Zetsumei said, gripping her backpack. Zetsumei looked towards Max and Marcus, not really surprised to see the two crying. "Suck it up you two!"

"We're trying, Zets!" Max sniffed.

"We're going to miss yer yelling," Marcus said, sniffing also.

Zetsumei rolled her eyes and sighed. "Look, I'm going to need you two to look after this place while I'm gone, got it?" Max and Marcus nodded.

"All right!" Luffy cheered. "Time to go!"

"Don't forget about us!" Max and Marcus shouted as Zetsumei walked out with the Straw Hats.

Zetsumei rolled her eyes, not even bothering to turn around and look at the two men she had known for a long time. She actually _hoped _she would forget about them, but then there was that part of her that knew she was going to miss this part of home she had managed to keep. But she knew she was going to make more, hopefully better, memories with these new people. And at some point, she hoped she could accomplish her dream, even if that meant betraying the people she would be calling nakama soon enough.


	8. Chapter 8

It had been a few days since the Straw Hats left Zetsumei's hometown, and at the moment everyone was standing around outside waiting for Franky and Chopper's news on the reattachment of Zetsumei's leg. It had been quite a while since they had shut the door to the infirmary, and yet no noises were heard, let alone any screams yet.

"What do you think's going on in there?" Usopp asked to no one unparticular as he laid down another card. He, Luffy, and Brook had decided to play cards while waiting.

"No idea…" Nami said, sighing as she shifted in her spot on the railing with Robin.

"Is reattaching a leg that difficult?" Luffy asked, looking up to the others. But no one had time to answer because Chopper had opened up the infirmary door and walked out, shutting it right behind him again. "Any news, Chopper?"

Chopper looked up from drying his hands, but he soon looked back down, frowning. "Zetsumei's recovery will take a little longer than originally planned…"

"Why's that?" Usopp asked. "Didn't Franky say even after the reattaching she should be able to walk around normally within a few days?"

Chopper's frown seemed to grow.

"What's wrong, Chopper?" Sanji asked, taking his cigarette out of his mouth.

Chopper grumbled to himself for a moment, but looked back up to the others soon again. "Her last leg had been attached too tight…"

"Meaning?" Zoro questioned with a small yawn. He had just woken up from his nap.

Everyone waited for Chopper's answer. "Meaning it had cut into her leg and her leg wasn't able to properly heal itself. So…besides the screws keeping the leg on, I had to surgically remove the ring the screws were in…" Chopper gave a weak smile. "Luckily it wasn't too deep, so she should heal in a several days."

"Well," Nami said, smiling, "that's good to hear." Nami looked to the others. "Either way, we still have quite a while before we hit the next island."

"She should be back on her feet by then," Brook said, gladly, "right, Chopper-san?"

Chopper smiled and nodded.

"Can we see Soumei yet?" Luffy asked impatiently. Chopper shook his head, making Luffy frown.

"Franky said to give him a few minutes while he reattaches the nerves," Chopper said, smiling.

Everyone was soon startled when a scream from the infirmary rang through their ears. It was ear piercing.

"I can see why we were warned beforehand now," Usopp said, rubbing his ears.

There was another scream, making everyone cover their ears again. When it subsided, they uncovered their ears and stared at the door. It was silent.

Sanji sighed, a bit frustrated. He understood that there was nothing anyone could do when Zetsumei was going through such pain, but he still felt like there needed to be _something _he could do. So, Sanji stopped leaning against the railing, grinding his cigarette into the ashtray nearby, and began heading to the one place he knew he could do something: the kitchen.

"Oi, Sanji!" Luffy called, but the chef didn't turn around, let alone stop walking. "Where are you going?"

"I'm heading to the kitchen to start dinner!" Sanji replied, waving back over his shoulder before disappearing around the corner.

Everyone stopped paying attention to where Sanji went and turned back towards the door for the infirmary that had been opened again by Franky.

"Can we see Soumei now?" Luffy asked, jumping to his feet and running over to Franky.

Franky shut the infirmary door and looked to the others, but Nami spoke up before him.

"Lay off, Guys!" Nami shouted. "You can see her later!"

"Aw," Luffy, Usopp, and Brook all sighed, their shoulders slouching as Nami pushed them away towards deck with her.

"Is she all right?" Robin asked, standing to her feet.

"She'll be fine," Franky said. "She passed out though. Tough telling when she'll wake up."

"Eh, who cares?" Zoro said, scratching his head as he began walking away.

"Zoro…" Chopper said, watching the swordsman walk away.

"I don't trust her," Zoro said, looking back. "She could be using us for all we know. We have no reason to trust her."

"I see your point there," Robin said, crossing her arms. "But I don't think that would happen."

"I'll believe it when I see it." Zoro then walked away without another word.

_During Dinner:_

"Awesome!" Luffy chimed, looking at all the food Sanji had set at the table.

Sanji set down a plate of fruit and smiled, holding the wooden spoon in his hand over his shoulder. "Dig in everyone!" While everyone began digging in, Sanji took a small glance over to the drapes hiding the door to the infirmary. He was wondering how Zetsumei was doing after all that she had been through earlier, but he knew that he couldn't just drop what he was doing and see her.

"Sanji?"

Sanji snapped out of his daze and turned his head towards the voice, smiling when seeing Nami's sweet face and smile.

"Something wrong?" Nami asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Oh nothing's wrong, Nami-san," Sanji chimed before turning around and walking back into the kitchen to clean dishes and begin his next project.

* * *

_Later that night:_

Zetsumei slowly began opening her eyes, blinking a few times to get her vision back. Of course, when she first woke up she had the splitting pair in her leg, but she knew that was common from what she had been through.

Zetsumei slowly looked at her surroundings, noticing she was still in the infirmary and that the light was on at the desk, even though she was alone. She sat up and looked around again, just noticing what was on the table next to her. It was a colorful sorbet with multiple fruits dressing the white cream on top and next to this sorbet was a long spoon.

Zetsumei reached for the tall glass and spoon and pulled it closer, looking it over. She knew who had left it, there was only one person who would.

She took a spoon full and put it in her mouth, savoring the delightful taste. It was delicious, she must say. In fact, it reminded her of home with the familiar taste of fruit she knew so well, yet there was that small sweetness that she had never tasted before. This almost made her smile.

* * *

_Next Morning:_

Sanji yawned as he opened the door to the kitchen, walking into the kitchen to start that morning's breakfast and to clean a bit before everyone got up. Of course, after turning on the stove and waiting for the meat to cook, he took the time to go check on Zetsumei in the infirmary. He pulled back the curtain and opened the door, walking in to see the girl still asleep. But he also noticed that the sorbet he had left for her was gone and the only thing left was the spoon in the empty glass with the two strawberries he had left on top.

_I guess she doesn't like strawberries… _Sanji thought, grabbing the glass and looking in it. He looked to Zetsumei once again and gave a light smile. He walked over, picking up the blanket that was falling off of her and recovered her before heading back towards the door. He then left, slightly grinning to himself. Maybe she didn't hate him as much as he thought.

* * *

**I feel like this was too OOC. Was it? Was it not? I don't know. You tell me. Please.**

**Okay…hope ya liked anyway. See ya next time.**


	9. Chapter 9

Fleet Admiral Sakazuki opened the door to the room. "You asked to see me, Commander-in-Chief?"

Commander-in-Chief Kong, looked away from the large aquarium in front of him and back to Sakazuki who had walked in. Kong didn't look too happy, but Sakazuki couldn't think of anything the Commander-in-Chief would be angered about. Especially why Kong would be angry and ask to see him. It wasn't like he had done anything disapproving.

"Sit down," Kong demanded before taking his own seat behind the desk.

Sakazuki sat down, still not fully understanding what was going on, until Kong spoke up.

"You're probably wondering why I called you all the way her, Akainu," Kong said, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. "I have something for you to do. Do you remember a woman marine name Seikiyou Kaiyou*?"

"Of course I remember her," Sakazuki said. "She was serious about her work, but she was always too brash... I didn't fully understand how she managed to jump the ranks so quickly. On top of that she was the youngest among the Vice-Admirals." Sakazuki looked to the floor, remembering the few times he's actually met the woman and spoke with her. "Last I heard, she retired."

"Vice-Admiral Seikiyou Kaiyou didn't retire," Kong said, "she disappeared."

"Disappeared?" Sakazuki questioned.

Kong nodded. "A few days ago we got word from a fleet saying that they've spotted her leaving the port of a small town, and we, the World Government, want the marines to take care of her."

"Take care of her?" Sakazuki questioned again. "What do you mean?"

Kong stood to his feet, turning his back to Sakazuki and looking at the fish tank again, watching on of the large fishes swim around in circles. "All I can say is that she's considered a threat to the marines and the World Government. She needs to be taken care of before she has a chance to take us out."

"Sir," Sakazuki spoke up, "I don't mean to be rude. But she's one girl, she wouldn't be able to-"

"She's stronger than you'd take her for," Kong said, turning around to look at the Fleet Admiral. "If she wasn't a trader, she could have taken your spot as Fleet Admiral." Sakazuki looked quite surprised that Kong would say that the woman was strong enough to be Fleet Admiral if she really wanted to. But what really puzzled Akainu was the few questions Kong didn't answer. Why was the Commander-in-Chief refusing to give the full story? "She needs to be caught."

Sakazuki was silent for a moment before standing to his feet and saying, "Leave it to me."

* * *

Zetsumei looked up from her book, looking around the room for a moment. She had a chill on her spine, like someone was either watching her or talking about her somewhere. But she knew that couldn't have been the case, yet why did she feel so uneasy? Instead of paying any mind to the turning in her stomach, she went back to reading.

After a minute, there was a light knock on the infirmary door making Zetsumei looked up again, much to her displeasure.

"Zetsumei~!" The door opened at Sanji peeked in, smiling cheerfully like he had been doing for the past few days when bringing her something to eat. Of course, Zetsumei found the young man's smile to be fairly frightening, or disgusting, but maybe that was because she didn't like the perverseness of it. In fact, she couldn't remember the last time she had met someone who was so fond of women as much as he was.

"I've brought you some tea," Sanji said, handing Zetsumei a mug.

"Thanks…" Zetsumei said monotonously. She took the warm mug in her hands and looked at it for a moment before sniffing it. She could smell multiple things, but all led her to one conclusion of what the liquid could have been. "This is Cha Yen Thai Black Tea, right?"

Sanji blinked at Zetsumei for a moment. "Y-Yeah…" Sanji's shocked expression soon left his face and turned into his usual smile. "I'm surprised you could figure that out without tasting it, Zetsumei."

Zetsumei didn't say anything more about how she knew this, she just brought the mug to her lips and took a drink out of it. But, before she could even begin talking again, Luffy, Usopp, Chopper, and Brook walked in.

"Hey, Soumei!" Luffy chimed, jumping onto the end of the bed that was empty. "Wanna play?" Luffy held up a bunch of cards, still widely grinning.

"I'd rather not…" Zetsumei said, calmly before looking back to her book.

"Come on, Zetsu," Usopp said, using the nickname most of the others called her (even if she didn't like it), "if you plan on staying with us, you're going to have to be more interacting with us!"

"Can't you two knock it off already?" Sanji snarled at the two. "You two have been bugging her nonstop since you learned she was awake. Can't you let her to heal in peace?!"

"Actually," Chopper said, finally speaking up, "Zetsumei's leg should be just fine." Everyone looked at him, a bit blankly. "I mean, sure it's not fully healed, but she should be all right walking around and doing other things. Although, there will be a bit of pain left, but that's only normal."

Zetsumei took a deep breath before setting down the mug and holding out her hand to Luffy. "I'll play one game, but that's it." She had changed the subject before anyone could ask her why she had refused to leave the infirmary.

"Yippee!" Luffy cheered, jumping to his feet and spinning around. After that, he took his seat on the end of the bed and handed the cards to Zetsumei who began shuffling them. After the cards had been equally divided between he, Usopp, Chopper, Brook, and Zetsumei, the three began playing Old Maid.

Sanji stood near the door for a little while, watching the group play around. It seemed that even though Zetsumei complained about everyone being loud and obnoxious, she acted fairly used to it. Sanji had the thought that it might have been because Zetsumei had been working around drunk men for the last three years (which ticked Sanji off a bit at picturing about how drunks must have acted around her), which caused her to feel indifferent about the others being so annoying. Then again, Zetsumei did sometimes show how annoyed she could get. Just the other day she had snapped at him and Zoro for arguing too loudly about drinking habits. Of course, Sanji was quick to apologize for making her angry, but it seemed she could have cared less for anything he had to say and shut the door, locking it, in his face.

"Sanji?"

Sanji snapped out of his thoughts to look to Chopper, who had called him, with a smile. "What is it, Chopper?"

"Your soufflé is burning…" Zetsumei said calmly, letting Brook take a card out of her hand. After that Brook's jaw dropped at seeing the old maid.

Sanji was quick to bolt out of the room and back into the kitchen, getting the oven quick enough to pull out the soufflé, saving it from any further charring. He looked at the soufflé sitting on the counter and noticed only a small piece was charred, so little he couldn't even smell it. This got him wondering how Zetsumei knew it was burning, let alone even know it was a soufflé. Was her sense of smell that good?

All in all, Sanji soon shrugged off the thought and continued with his cooking.

* * *

***"Seikiyou" means "powerful", "Kaiyou" means "sea"; thus, meaning "powerful sea".**


	10. Chapter 10

The Straw Hats were once again at port in a town called "Hakiyoku*". As of the moment, the group had split up in pairs, each going in their separate directions as soon as they hit land. Luffy had gone with Usopp to explore; Chopper was with Robin buying medical supplies and more books; Brook and Nami stayed at a nearby café, drinking tea and the such, as they kept eyes on the ship; Franky and Zoro browsed around looking for more needed metal and such for their travels; and Zetsumei was with Sanji, restocking on needed food after Luffy had broken into the fridge and pantry just a few days ago.

Of course, Zetsumei didn't appreciate being stuck with the chef; in fact, she much rather have gone on her own, but at this point she could have really cared less. On top of that, she figured it would be best to listen to Nami, especially after what Zetsumei witnessed when she learned Luffy had snuck on rations. She didn't want to get on the woman's bad side. All in all, it might have been best for Zetsumei to go with Sanji instead of someone else, seeing as she knew more about food than anyone else in the crew.

"Zetsumei?"

Zetsumei looked up from her browsing and looked to Sanji who was smiling, like he usually did to her, as he held up a papaya. "How would you feel about fruit salad tonight?"

Zetsumei crossed her arms and looked at Sanji with an eyebrow raised. "Why the hell are you asking me?" Zetsumei sighed and turned away from him, beginning to walk over to another booth, mumbling to herself about how he was the chef so there was no use in asking her.

Sanji slouched dejectedly with a small sigh escaping from his mouth. He thought he had finally made progress when Zetsumei had agreed to go with him to the market (even if Nami threatened her). But it seemed he was far from making _any _sort of progress.

After buying a few papayas for fruit salad, Sanji quickly went after Zetsumei who was looking over a fish stall, holding up a fish and looking it over. After seeing it over, she set it down again.

"There aren't very many fish here…" Zetsumei said, wiping her hands on a rag that was laying on the table.

"Well, it's the best we could do, Missy."

Zetsumei and Sanji looked up to see the stalls owner, an old man with a long white beard, walking up to the table and looking at them. "This island isn't as abundant on fish like it used to be." The old man shrugged. "It's hard finding enough to even open the stall in the morning."

"Do you know the cause?" Sanji asked.

"Not at all," the old man said, shrugging. "Something must be either spook'n the fish or something else has gone wrong." The old man motioned to the fish. "Anyway, you two goin' to buy something or not?"

After getting snapped at by the old man, the two purchased one fish and left looking at the other stalls for more food they could get, having gotten most the necessities already.

"Is there anything you'd like for dinner tonight, Zetsumei?" Sanji asked, looking over to see Zetsumei's reaction, which was nonexistent. She didn't even bother speaking up. At this point, Sanji had gotten used to her not answering and sort of expected her not to answer. But he couldn't say he didn't wish she would answer.

The two stopped in front of another stall of fruit and vegetables and browsed over them. Lemons, limes, peaches, pears, carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, anything you can think of was at this stall. It seems that due to the low quantity in meat or fish, the island had made up with it for the large variety of fruit. This just meat that Luffy was going to have to suffer a bit before the crew could reach the next island to get more meat.

Sanji put a hand to his chin, looking over the variety as he began, somewhat, talking to himself. "Maybe on top of making fruit salad I could make 'Fruit Bake'*…" Sanji tapped his chin, trying to remember all those fruit recipes up in his head. "Or maybe I could try 'Fruit Salsa'**, I don't believe I've tried making that yet… Or with the fish I could possible try salmon with fruit salsa…" Sanji smiled to himself, completely ignoring the strange look Zetsumei was giving him. "A fruit dip could go well with all these fruits…and it would go well with Nami-san's tangerines… I could also make a cobbler, I don't remember the last time I made one of those…" Sanji's eyes were soon glazed over with hearts. "I could also make a nice cake for Robin-chan!" After a moment of swooning over the idea, he suddenly remembered another recipe he hadn't done in a while. "I haven't made fruit sherbet in a while either…"

"If you're going to be making 'Fruit Sherbet'," Zetsumei spoke up, drawing the man's attention, "then I would suggest using limes instead of lemons…" Zetsumei picked up a lime, looking it over before throwing it at Sanji, who caught it before it hit the ground.

Sanji looked at the lime for a moment before understanding what Zetsumei was saying. "I see your point. Limes are much less acerbic than lemons; thus you wouldn't have to be as careful with them. If you put in a tad bit too much then you wouldn't really notice. It would taste like you had used lemons instead." Sanji soon smiled and looked to Zetsumei, hearts in his eyes and slight swoon in his steps. "That's brilliant, Zetsumei~!"

Zetsumei ignored Sanji's chimes and just continued to look over the fruits and vegies before her. Her mind worked in a similar way to how Sanji's worked when looking at foods, concocting different recipes to fit each individual piece. Although, the thing that was different (and it might have been due to her upbringing) was that Zetsumei thought of different alcohols instead of different recipes. But with her being a fellow connoisseur, she knew her way around both alcohol and food. It just made you wonder why she couldn't get along with the chef; though, that might have been due to his tendencies around women.

"I could probably make a nice fruit wine out of this…" Zetsumei said, holding up a few cherries. "Or maybe a vodka…" Zetsumei crossed her arms for a moment, still looking intently at the cherries. "Maybe a _Guignolet*** _would be good… Or a _Hare Vişne**** _maybe…"

Sanji smiled as he picked up a few fruits and placed them in the basket he had been carrying around all day before saying, "With how much knowledge you have of liquors, it's hard remembering you used to be a marine."

"Hm…" Zetsumei hummed before chuckling, which surprised Sanji a bit (it would anyone if they knew how rarely she actually laughed or smiled). "Three years in a bar will do that to ya."

Sanji's smile left his face for a moment, realizing that it might have been his chance to learn more about this 'Mysterious Woman' that had been joining them on the seas for about a week now. "You said your father ran the bar before you did, right?" Zetsumei was silent as she placed fruits in Sanji's basket, too lazy to put them in her own. "Did he teach you everything you know about alcohol?"

Sanji turned to look at Zetsumei when he heard her not answering him, but then she spoke up. "Not everything…" After mumbling that, she walked away, leaving Sanji there to pay for everything as she disappeared somewhere in the crowd.

Zetsumei continued looking around, before suddenly hearing the light tone of music being played. Her curiosity began getting the better of her and she tried figuring out where it was coming from, only to learn it was some old man playing a harmonica as he walked by. He was singing as he played, and the words couldn't help but catch Zetsumei's attention.

_As soon as the sun sets and the moon reaches its peek_

_Towards where the phoenix gazes and to where the crane seats_

_There I will find thee,_

_In pale shades of blue and green_

_With such beauty of a flower on land_

_For those who seek riches find riches_

_Within the Dragon's nest they will find_

_The Bird of Paradise_

Zetsumei found herself in confusion. She didn't understand what the meaning of the song was, or if there even was a meaning to start with. But before Zetsumei could even ask herself any questions, she was tapped on the shoulder. She looked up and towards Sanji, the one who wanted her attention.

"You all right, Zetsumei?" Sanji asked looking a bit worried.

"Fine," Zetsumei answered before turning to the old man again, but he was gone.

"Anyway," Sanji spoke up, stuffing his lighter into his pocket, "it's getting late, and we shouldn't keep Nami-san and the others waiting for us."

"Right…" Zetsumei mumbled, slowly following the chef as they made their way back to the café Nami and the others should be waiting at.

* * *

_***Fruit Bake: a sort of cobbler made with peaches, papaya, rhubarb, and raisins and baked in a oven. Could either be serves cold or warm.**_

_****Fruit Salsa: made with tomato, orange, kiwi, red onion, avocado, cilantro, and jalapeno chile peppers.**_

_*****Guignolet: a French wild cherry liqueur. Only reinventions of the drink remain after the original recipe of this drink was lost.**_

_********__Hare Vişne: a dark red wine, nearing the color black, that is produces from sour cherries. Could be drank straight or used in cocktails._


	11. Chapter 11

Night was just falling and everyone was currently gather on deck, waiting for Sanji to finish preparing dinner. Of course, Nami had suggested that the group eat out, but it turns out that none of them had enough money after buying everything they needed to even afford three meals, let alone all the meals Luffy eats in one sitting.

"Oi, Soumei!"

Zetsumei looked up from her book, and her humming, to look to her "Captain" who was standing next to her, staring.

"What are you singing?" Luffy questioned again.

"Just a song I heard in town," Zetsumei said, looking back to her book and turning the page.

"Now that you mention it…" Luffy, and whoever was nearby, looked up to see Robin walking up with a smile. "This island does have a legend."

"And you're just telling us this now?" Usopp questioned.

Robin nodded. "Yes. Supposedly the song is to lead a person to a large treasure a King once buried here." Robin looked to everyone. "But it's just rumors. It's hard telling whether they're true or not."

"Treasure?!" Nami and Luffy suddenly shouted.

"Did you _have _to mention that?" Zoro asked, looking to Robin who simply giggled at the reactions Luffy and Nami were giving.

"Why didn't you mention something earlier, Robin?!" Nami shouted. "We could have been looking for it already!"

"Yeah!" Luffy chimed. He looked to Zetsumei, gripping the woman by her shoulders. "Oi, Soumei, can you sing that song again?"

Zetsumei narrowed her eyes at Luffy, but before she could even snap at the boy for touching, he had suddenly been kicked out of the way by a furious Sanji. Zetsumei felt a bit relieved, but she had the sort of urge to punch the boy herself.

"Don't just suddenly do that, Luffy!" Sanji shouted. "Can't you-" Sanji, and everyone else, had gone silent when Zetsumei had obliged to Luffy's wish and began singing the small song she had heard.

_As soon as the sun sets and the moon reaches its peek_

_Towards where the phoenix gazes and to where the crane seats_

_There I will find thee,_

_With such beauty of a flower on land_

_For those who seek riches find riches_

_Within the Dragon's nest they will find_

_The Bird of Paradise_

Everyone slowly looked back towards Zetsumei. She was silently sitting there, flipping through her book again as if she hadn't even sang the song.

"Oh, Zetsumei!" Sanji chimed, reaching his arms out to hug the girl. "That was absolutely beautiful!" Before Sanji could glomp the poor girl, she had held out her leg and kept him at a distance while still focusing on her book.

"It was a bit pitchy to me," Zoro said, rubbing his ear.

Zetsumei slammed her book shut and glared at Zoro. "You say something, Marimo?"

Zoro glared at Zetsumei. "Only that you're tone-deaf."

The two continued to glare at each other, but neither made a move to either kill the other or severely injure them. It was clear that the two hated each other beyond words could express, and everyone knew it was because Zoro didn't trust her and she hated his prying.

"Can't you two stop?" Nami said, pushing Zetsumei and Zoro away from each other. "At least try getting along!"

"Never," Zoro and Zetsumei said, both crossing their arms and looking away from each other stubbornly.

"Come on guys!" Luffy whined. "I'm getting hungry! Can't this wait?" Luffy's answer was a glare from both Zoro and Zetsumei, but it didn't faze the Straw Hat captain. After a moment, everyone had agreed that all the arguing and 'treasure solving' could be figure out after eating.

* * *

_After Dinner:_

"I just can't figure it out!" Luffy screamed, rubbing his head as he collapsed into the grass again.

"It makes no sense…" Nami mumbled, tapping her chin. "The first part is easy, but what does the second line have anything to do with night?"

"Or maybe the first part has nothing to do with night?" Chopper suggested, looking to the swordsman next to him that was leaning against the railing of the Sunny.

"If it wasn't night," Zoro said, "then what else would it be?"

"No idea…" Usopp mumbled, collapsing into the grass too.

"Maybe it has nothing to do with the sun and moon but is the time [1]?" Brook suggested.

"If you consider time," Sanji spoke up, taking his cigarette out of his mouth, "then the peek would be January."

"And it's the middle of summer right now," Franky said.

"I don't think a treasure would only be visible during January, Brook," Nami said.

"Ah, I guess you're right," Brook said once again.

Luffy sat up and looked over to the two women who were sitting down next to Brook. "What do you think, Robin, Soumei?"

"No idea," Zetsumei said, crossing her legs and covering her hands with her brown sweeter which was beginning to fall off her shoulders.

"To be honest," Robin said, "I'm not a hundred percent sure either. It is quite a puzzling little rhyme."

Luffy sighed and laid back down on the ground. "Why do these things have to be so hard?!"

"Because people don't want other people to find it, Luffy," Usopp answered.

"Then why make a rhyme in the first place?" Sanji asked.

"Maybe so they don't forget?" Chopper suggested.

Zetsumei sighed, standing to her feet and walking over to the edge of the ship, ignoring most of what her "nakama" were saying. She reached into her jean pockets, fiddling around for her cigarette box. When she found said box, she pulled it out and took one cigarette out of it and put it to her lips. After that, she ran through her pockets looking for her lighter, which seemed to be nowhere.

"Damn it…" Zetsumei grumbled, releasing a small frustrated sigh. She opened her eyes again and was a bit surprised to see a lighter being held out in front of her. She followed the long arm holding it and scowled a bit at seeing Sanji's smiling face.

"You know these things can kill you right?" Sanji said.

Zetsumei simply looked away from him, lighting her cigarette in the outstretched lighter, and replied, "Speak for yourself, Cherry Boy[2]." After that, her attention had been pulled back to what the others were beginning to talk about, or argue about in this case. She hadn't even noticed how shocked she made Sanji with her nickname for him.

"Can't we just call it a day?" Zoro complained. "It's freezing out here!"

"We're not stopping until we know where that treasure is!" Nami snapped.

"And think about it this way, Zoro," Chopper said, smiling, "at least the stars are pretty tonight!"

"You have a point there!" Usopp said, looking up at the sky. "To bad you can't see all the stars with the lights on."

"Peek…" Zetsumei mumbled, putting a hand to her chin. "Phoenix…crane…"

Sanji looked at Zetsumei. "Something wrong, Zetsumei?"

Zetsumei slightly smiled to herself, making the chef get startled for a moment at his jumping heart. "Jiyuunikiyuu[3]…"

"12 class?" Usopp questioned, over hearing the woman. "What does that have anything to do with this?!"

"I think she's talking about the stars, Usopp," Robin said with a smile.

Zetsumei turned around, looking to everyone. "We need to put out the lights."

"Why?" Nami questioned.

Zetsumei looked to Nami. "Do you wanna find this treasure or not?" Zetsumei then walked over to a light and blew it out. Pretty soon, everyone had joined in a turned off all the lights they had on deck and in the cabins.

"Now what?" Luffy asked before noticing how much brighter the night sky was. "Wow!"

"Amazing!" Chopper giggled.

Zetsumei looked through the night sky, but with all the stars it made it hard picking out which ones were the ones mentioned.

"What are we looking for exactly?" Nami questioned.

"In the song it mentions a phoenix and a crane," Zetsumei said, breaking from her search for a moment to look towards Nami and the others. "The two are constellations you can see during the summer." Zetsumei looked back to the sky. "Of course it's not very practical to use constellations you can only find during summer, but if you knew the exact places they were, then this song would be the perfect map." Zetsumei soon raised her hand, pointing to the Phoenix constellation. "See? There's the Phoenix."

Luffy and the others squinted.

"That doesn't look like a Phoenix, Soumei," Luffy said.

"You have to use your imagination, Luffy," Robin answered.

Zetsumei ignored Luffy's ignorance and pointed to the crane that was a little ways away. "And there's the crane. If you line up both…"

Luffy and Usopp tried lining up the ends of the stars and noticed where it was pointing to on the island. "The mountain!"

"That's right," Zetsumei said, smirking.

"You're so smart, Zetsumei!" Sanji chimed, trying to hug the young woman. Sadly, she dodged before he could even touch her.

"Don't touch me, Skirt chaser," Zetsumei snapped, glaring at Sanji and then walking away.

As figured, the first one laughing was Zoro who found this new nickname sort of suitable for the perverted chef. The swordsman was laughing so hard that he was practically rolling on the ground. Strangely, and not to really anyone surprise, a few of the other Straw Hats began laughing too. But, Sanji only focused on Zoro; thus the reason the swordsman was the first one kicked which began the usual argument between them. To be honest, Sanji was fairly hurt, and embarrassed, that Zetsumei saw him in such ways and he hoped that he would be able to change her mind sooner or later.

* * *

**[1] _The Japanese word for "sun and moon" is "uto" which could also be taken as "time"._**

**[2] _Cherry Boy is a military term used to describe a new or inexperienced soldier. It can also be used by Asian prostitutes to describe a virgin... Zetsumei was using the military form._**

**[3] _Jiyuunikiyuu means "constellations of the zodiac", but jiyuun can mean "12" and kiyuu can mean "class"; thus the reason Usopp said "12 class"._**

**[4] _(if you don't know what a skirt chaser is, and I hope you ALL do) A skirt chaser is a male who feels compelled to pursue and/or ogle all females._**


	12. Chapter 12

**I forgot to mention this story takes place after the two year skip. No idea when in that time, so I leave that up to your imagination.**

* * *

"Wow!" everyone said as they looked at the sight before them.

When the group had reached the top of the mountain they were met with the sight of ruins of what seemed to be an old castle or church. The place was covered in greenery and in the center of the area there was a small pool of water with lily pads on it, reflecting the night sky. The sight was truly beautiful.

"Is this the place?" Zoro questioned, resting against one of the large pieces of rock.

"Looks like it," Nami said, beginning to walk around.

"Of course it's the place," Zetsumei said, looking up, "it's the only thing that is being pointed to." Zetsumei looked back over her shoulder, smirking at Zoro. "Unless you have a better idea, Muscle-head."

Zoro's eye twitched at Zetsumei's comment. "How about I cut you up right now so I don't have to do it later?" Zoro reached for one of his swords, but Usopp quickly held the swordsman back before he could unsheathe the blade.

"Hey, Zoro, calm down!" Usopp said. "Can't you at least _try _getting along with her?"

"Not a chance," Zetsumei and Zoro answered, both storming off in separate directions.

Zetsumei stood at the edge of the small pool, looking at the water. The water was so blue and clean that you couldn't even see the rock at the bottom. You could, however, see your reflection very clearly. This made Zetsumei begin wondering about what could be at the bottom. Sadly, she couldn't look herself because she was a Devil Fruit user, but maybe…

Zetsumei's concentration was pulled away from the pool when Luffy came up behind her. "What ya doing, Soumei?"

"Just thinking," Zetsumei answered, putting her hand to her chin.

"I've been meaning to ask," Usopp spoke up, crossing his arms, "what is the 'Bird of Paradise'?"

"As the name entitles, it's a bird," Zetsumei answered, making Usopp snap about him not meaning it that way.

"It's a bird that's supposed to bring riches and prosperity with it," Robin said, allowing everyone to listen in on her history lesson. "Legend says that the bird came from heaven and that it would never touch the ground until its death. People used to capture these birds and cut off their wings and feet, believing they brought luck."

"So…" Chopper spoke up. "The Bird of Paradise exists?"

"No," Zetsumei spoke up before anyone else could. "It's a species of bird that is found in tropical locations and is from the Paradisaeidae family." Zetsumei stuffed her hands in her pockets. "It's also a constellation known as _Apus, _which literally means 'without feet'; thus part of the reason human's cut off the feet. But other than that there is no _actual_ bird that brings riches and prosperity."

"I think it exists," Luffy said, grinning.

"Of course you do," Nami sighed, shaking her head.

"Well," Luffy said again, frowning as he looked to his navigator, "why wouldn't it? Someone went through all this trouble in hiding it and making a song for it. Why wouldn't it exist?"

"He might be right," Robin said, putting her hands behind her back. "The Bird of Paradise might actually exist. After all, all legends are told with a bit of truth."

"By the way," Brook spoke up, drawing everyone's attention, "Zetsumei-san, you know quite a lot about stars."

"Yeah," Usopp said, the switch finally clicking in his head. Usopp pointed an accusing finger at Zetsumei, who glared at said finger. "Why is that? You're supposed be a marine, not an Astronomer!"

"Stop accusing her, Usopp!" Sanji snapped, putting his hands on Zetsumei's shoulders, which she didn't enjoy in the slightest. "Zetsumei is just smart! There's nothing wrong with that."

"How do you know so much about stars, Soumei?" Luffy asked with a small tilt of his head. "Did you learn about them when you were younger?"

"Maybe you dreamed of being an Astronomer and ended up becoming a marine instead," Zoro scoffed with a slightly amused smile.

After pushing Sanji's hands off of her, and slapping Usopp's hand away from her face (rather harshly), she answered Luffy honestly. "I used to know someone who wished to become an Astronomer…" Everyone noticed how Zetsumei's expression darkened a bit. Her mind had flashed to an unpleasant time, one she had hoped to forget. That was until she blinked and calmed herself a bit. "It's the only reason I know all this." Zetsumei looked up as if nothing had bothered her. "Now, can we get back to figuring out where this treasure is?"

"I agree!" Nami said, putting her hands on her hips. "We need to figure out where that treasure is!"

"Any ideas where to go next?" Usopp asked, crossing his arms.

Everyone began pondering.

"Absolutely no idea," Franky sighed.

"There I will find thee," Luffy mumbled, trying his best to remember the song.

"In pale shades of blue and green…" Usopp continued.

"With such beauty of a flower on land…" Chopper hummed.

All three boys put their hands to their chins and began thinking, but nothing came to their minds.

"Well," Sanji said, stuffing his hands in his pockets and looking around, "I see a lot of blues and greens, but nothing looking like a flower."

"Even the lily pads don't have any flowers…" Nami sighed.

Zetsumei sighed, sitting down on the edge of the pool with Robin and Brook next to her. She crossed her legs, leaning her elbow against her knee as she began thinking just like the rest of them. Sure, Zetsumei didn't agree with everyone in the group (in fact she found most of them to be rather annoying and completely idiotic) but when didn't she find people like that? Max and Marcus were practically the same way. It was nothing she could change. Plus they were her only ticket to the place she wanted to go. It's either try her best to be a part of them or figure out another way to get to that place, and she wasn't about to give up on her free ticket just because she thought the captain and his crew were complete idiots at times. Most of the marines were idiots, and she learned to deal with them…for the most part.

"Maybe the pale shades mentioned were the sky and grass," Chopper suggested.

"It's possible," Robin said, "but if you were just describing the sky and grass, would it be necessary to put in 'pale shades'?" Robin smiled. "I think the author is trying to get something across. If he was simply talking about the sky and grass then it would be too simple."

"It was a good idea, Doctor-san," Zetsumei said, reassuring the frowning reindeer. "But she does have a point." Zetsumei puts a hand to her chin, beginning to tap her finger in concentration.

"Um, Zetsumei…" The woman looked up to Nami who had called her. "If you keep sitting like that, you may fall into the water."

Zetsumei looked back over her shoulder and found herself sitting right on the edge, one false move and she would have fallen in. "Oh…I didn't notice…thanks…" Zetsumei shifted in her spot, but stopped when something caught her eye, which made her ignore all the shocked mumbles about how she apologized.

"Don't worry, Zetsumei-san!" Sanji chimed, putting hand over his chest. "I will make sure nothing of the sorts happens to you! I shall be your Prince in shining armor!"

"Put a sock in it," Zoro snarled as he crossed his arms over her chest.

Sanji simply glared at Zoro, threatening to kick the swordsman. But he didn't get the chance after Robin drew everyone's attention.

"I believe we might have found something," Robin said, smiling as she pointed to the stone she, Zetsumei, and Brook were looking at.

Everyone peered over Robin and Zetsumei's shoulders to see a small symbol engraved on the stone the two were sitting by. As Robin explained, the symbol read "Red".

"There's one over here too!" Chopper chimed from the other side of the pool with Usopp behind him.

"And over here," Luffy said, pointing to the stone he was at on the left side of the pool.

"And over here, Robin-san, Zetsumei-san," Brook said from where he and Franky stood to the right.

Robin and Zetsumei quickly looked at the symbols to see the word "Blue", "White", and "Green".

"So that's what it meant, huh?" Zetsumei said, crossing her arms. "It was talking about the blue and green symbols."

"Does that mean that the treasure is underwater?!" Luffy and Nami shouted, both turning pale.

"Most likely," Robin said with a smile. "There must be some way to drain out the water so we can see what's under there."

"Instead of breaking something for a theory we don't even know is a hundred percent yet," Zoro said, not really believing they should break a monument the island has been holding dear for so long, "why not have a look under the water first?"

"Great idea," Zetsumei said, grinning to everyone's surprise. Sadly, this grin was frightening to everyone. They soon learned why when Zetsumei suddenly grabbed Zoro's head and dunked him into the water, but even though he struggled he couldn't break from her strong and crushing grip.

"Zetsumei!" Nami shouted. "You can kill him that way!"

"Relax," Zetsumei said, pulling Zoro back up, "he'll be fine."

"What the hell?!" Zoro shouted between coughs, wiping his face. "You could have killed me!"

"Did you see anything?" Zetsumei questioned calmly.

"Why would I focus on trying to see something when you're-" Zoro was immediately shoved under the water again.

Robin giggled. "At least she's more vivacious than she was before." Robin looked to the others. "Maybe she's starting to settle in."

Luffy laughed, clapping his hands as he watched. "Go Soumei!"

"Don't encourage her!" Usopp and the others shouted, even though three of the Straw Hats (Luffy, Sanji, and Franky) were enjoying themselves at seeing someone putting Zoro in line.

Zetsumei raised Zoro's head out of the water. "Now, did you see anything?"

Zoro managed to break from Zetsumei's grasp as he snarled at her and answered the question when Nami re-asked it. "I saw a small symbol down there, but I don't know what it was saying. On top of that the whole bottom was designed into a flower."

Everyone smiled.

"Nice job, Doggy," Zetsumei said, patting Zoro's head.

"Don't call me that, Shorty!" Zoro snapped.

"Now can we break it?!" Luffy chimed, jumping to his feet.

"Now we can break it, Luffy," Nami answered.

Luffy jumped up and down, fully prepared to break the rim to let all the water free, but he was tapped on the shoulder by Sanji.

"Allow me to try," Sanji said smugly. He walked over to the rim of the pool and lifted his leg, bringing it right down on one of the rocks and breaking it, allowing all the water to rush out. Sanji smirked confidently before turning around with hearts in his eyes. "Did you see that, Zetsumei-san~?!" His heart was shattered when he realized that Zetsumei was paying absolutely no attention to him and was, instead, talking with Brook.

"Nice work, Sanji!" Nami chimed, which immediately brought Sanji back on his feet.

"Oh, you give me too much praise, Nami-san!" he sang.

Everyone ignored the swooning chef and walked into the empty pool, looking at the large flower shape that dressed the ground. In the center was a small symbol that drew Robin's attention immediately.

"Beauty," Robin said, smiling. "Looks like we found our way."

"All we gotta do is break it, right?" Luffy questioned.

"Seems that way," Franky said with a smile.

"So," Nami said, crossing her arms, "who's going to break it this time?"

"I will." Everyone turned around and looked at Zetsumei who was fully serious, but she always looked serious. "That is if you don't mind."

"You sure, Zetsumei?" Usopp questioned, only to get glared at by her.

"I'm not _weak _if that's what you're implying," Zetsumei growled.

"I-I wasn't sayin' that at all," Usopp answered, waving his hands in front of him as he felt another glare on his back, who he knew was Sanji. "I was just saying that we shouldn't have a woman do all the hard work."

"I think I can manage," Zetsumei said.

"Lay off, Usopp," Nami said, her eyes blinded by greed, "if Zetsumei said she'll do it, she'll do it!"

"It's all yours, Soumei!" Luffy chimed before anyone could give any further objection.

Zetsumei smirked, with a small, sarcastic bow. "With pleasure, _Captain_."

"Now's she's getting sarcastic…" Zoro muttered, rolling his eye and shaking his head. That's when Zetsumei slammed her foot on his as she walked by, which made Zoro bend over in pain mumbling curses and swearing he'll get her back for it.

"How do you plan on breaking it, Zetsumei-san?" Brook asked curiously.

Zetsumei joined her hands, stretching them and making loud cracks and pops echo through everyone's ears. She didn't answer Brook, but instead showed him what she was going to do. Zetsumei raised a fist and punched the ground, sending a light tremor that almost made everyone lose their balance. As soon as Zetsumei stood to her feet, the ground beneath her, and everyone, began crumbling away which made them fall right down the hole leading to wherever was next on the list.

"You could have warned us of the drop!" Usopp snapped, peeking out from all the rubble.

"I would have if I knew about it…" Zetsumei mumbled right back, dusting herself off. She then began wondering why she wasn't in that much pain, she had fallen like everyone else. She looked underneath her, and was appalled by seeing Sanji underneath her, eyes spinning, a blush on his face, and the small trickle of blood running out his nose. She must have accidently fallen on him. "Sorry, Cherry Boy..." Zetsumei then stood to her feet, flouting Sanji's faint 'it's all right' or 'anything for you' reply and completely disregarding the incapacitated chef.

"That was fun!" Brook laughed loudly as he dusted himself off and helped Robin to her feet.

"My ass hurts…" Franky replied, getting up off the ground, rubbing his behind.

"Mine too," Zoro said, stretching a bit to pop his back before helping Nami to her feet.

"That's was awesome, Soumei!" Luffy cheered, popping out of the rubble with a laugh. He seemed to be the one that took most of the rubble on him, but since he was rubber it didn't seem to hurt him much. "Let's get moving!" Luffy was then darting down the dark shaft the group had discovered.

"Zetsumei," Chopper said quickly, running over to the girl after Franky used his 'nipple lights' to illuminate the dark area, "you should get treated before we go any further!"

Zetsumei looked down to her hand, seeing the skin dripping blood from the cuts on her knuckles after the punch against solid ground. "Ah, I'm fine, Reindeer-san. You might want to worry more about him." Zetsumei then motioned a thumb over her shoulder towards Sanji, who was still lost in his daydreams.

"Sanji!" Chopper screamed, immediately running over with Usopp to help the chef stand. Sadly, the love sick chef was unable to stand on his own two feet and had to be dragged across the ground as everyone began moving down the shaft towards who knows where. It was the only thing they could do now that they seemed to be stuck: just keep moving forward.

"My, my," Robin chuckled as she and Zetsumei began walking down the shaft behind Luffy (who was running ahead), Franky, and Brook, "I believe you're starting to open up a bit, Kitsune-san[1]."

Zetsumei glanced to Robin, looking at the smile that unnerved her beyond certainty. But it was more than the smile. The former marine got the vibe that Robin knew something, something the others didn't know and _shouldn't _know. Or Robin is just really good at bluffing. To be honest, with how mysterious Robin was, it was amazing Zetsumei got along as well as she did with her. "Really?"

"By the way," Robin spoke up again, turning somber, "was there anything you found odd about this little song we've been solving?"

"Odd?" Zetsumei questioned. She put a hand to her chin, looking at her feet as she walked. "Now that you mention it…the only thing that really unnerves me is some of the words used…"

"What do you mean, Zetsumei-san?" Brook asked, drawing everyone's attention (except the chef who was still out like a light).

Zetsumei pulled her hand away from her chin. "In the song the two lines 'with such beauty of a flower on land' and the phrase 'within the Dragon's nest they will find', the writer uses the same word for 'dragon' and 'beauty'…why?"[2]

"Maybe they ran out of words to use," Luffy said, shrugging as he continued skipping down the cavern.

"I highly doubt that's the case," Nami said, crossing her arms again.

"Then maybe he was just lazy!" Usopp groaned, trying his best to drag Sanji behind him with Chopper's help. The task was turning out to be more of a hassle than originally planned.

"Well," Zetsumei said, speaking up again, "whoever made this little song to hide their treasure must have really loved astronomy…"

"Why do you say that, Zetsumei?" Nami asked, tilting her head.

"Because when he mentions 'dragon' he's talking about one of the constellations," Zetsumei answered, solemnly, pulling out a cigarette from her pocket. "The word he uses is 'tail' which is indicating to the Scorpius constellation found in the summer sky."

"Which most likely means this song was written in the summer," Robin answered.

"Hey guys!" Luffy shouted, waving his hand from ahead. "Which way do we go?"

Everyone stopped walking to find themselves at a dead end with four different ways to go.

"Any ideas?" Nami asked, looking down the tunnels.

Everyone began discussing about which ways to go, a few bringing up the song and trying to figure out which way they needed to go by using that. It was true, the direction was mentioned in the song, but Zetsumei knew no one was going to figure it out. So, she sighed and began wondering how long it was going to take them until they realized she said the answer no less than two minutes ago.

"I think we should go to left," Zoro said, crossing his arms.

"And why should we trust you?" Sanji asked. "You're terrible at directions."

"It's true," Nami said, crossing her arms. "I think we should just keep heading straight until we reach a dead end, then just turn back if we're wrong."

"That's going to take too much time," Luffy whined. "I say we just go right."

"Why don't we play rock-paper-scissors for it, huh?" Usopp suggested.

Robin crossed her arms, continuing to listen to her friends bicker about the direction. That's when she noticed Zetsumei walking away down one of the tunnels, the right one to be precise. So, she called out, curious. "Kitsune-san?"

Everyone looked up and to Robin, then turned their heads towards Zetsumei who was disappearing down the dark tunnel.

"Zetsumei-san!" Sanji called. "Where are you going?"

"To the treasure," Zetsumei answered calmly, getting out her lighter and lighting the way when it go too dark.

"You know where it is, Himei?" Luffy asked, running after her.

"But how do you know?" Chopper asked, once he and everyone else caught up.

"I believe I can explain," Robin said. "Remember when she was talking about how she told us that the word used for 'Dragon' was the meaning of 'tail' indicating the Scorpius constellation in the sky?"

"Yeah," Usopp said. "But what does-"

"It's the direction Scorpius is found in," Zetsumei spoke up. She looked back over her shoulder towards the others. "The author was telling us to go south, which was this tunnel here."

"See?" Luffy chuckled. "Told ya we should go right."

Everyone rolled their eyes and soon stopped in their tracks when a loud rumbling came, shaking the ground beneath their feet.

"Uh, w-what was t-t-that?" Usopp, Chopper, and Brook stuttered, holding onto each other.

"Maybe it was a dragon," Zoro teased, scaring the three even more. That's when Usopp and Chopper began panicking about getting eaten by a giant lizard. Although, everyone knew it wasn't a dragon. After all, how could a dragon fit in these tunnels?

Suddenly Zetsumei's lighter was blown out by a strong gust of wind, leaving everyone in the dark (since Franky shut off his lights to save energy).

"GAH!" Usopp and Chopper screamed.

"Calm down guys!" Nami said. "The light was just blown out!"

"Then get it back!" the two cried.

Zetsumei flicked her lighter, but it only made a spark. "Come on you stupid thing…" Zetsumei continued trying to get the lighter to work, but it continued to only spark.

"I don't know how much longer I can stand their screaming…" Zoro grumbled, before feeling something touch his backside. "Who the hell just touched me?!"

"Wasn't me," everyone said in unison.

"EEP!" Nami screeched, latching onto Luffy who was right next to her. "Something touched me now! It was all hard and crusty."

"S-Sorry…" Brook said, before he got kicked by Nami who knew where he was after he touched her.

There was a small growl coming from behind.

"Funny, Zoro," Usopp said, nervously. "But you won't get me this time."

"Y-Yeah," Chopper stuttered, "you won't scare us like that, Zoro!"

"Uh," Zoro said, "that wasn't me."

The light was soon back and just as everyone was sighing in relief, they heard another growl behind them and felt the small breeze again. Everyone slowly turned around and were surprised to see a large, very large, snake behind them. It stuck out its tongue and hissed at them, then it opened his mouth and showed it's dripping wet cavern.

"RUN!" everyone screamed before bolting off down the tunnel with the large snake following behind them with every step.

* * *

**[1] Kistune means fox. In other words, Zetsumei's sneaky like a fox is what Robin is implying here.**

**[2] The word for "beauty" is "bi" which could also mean a part of one of the four Chinese constellations (particularly the 'tail' of the Azure Dragon) which in English would be the Scorpius constellation.**

**I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and I just wanted to say: I miss your comments, guys… But I thank you all who are staying with me on this, and I'll see you all next chapter.**


	13. Chapter 13

"Think we lost it?" Usopp panted, bending over as he tried catching his breath with the rest of his friends.

At the moment, the Straw Hats had managed to find themselves in, what seemed to be, an underground cavern. It was fairly large considering there was a waterfall coming in from the large hole on the roof, and this made a large pond at their feet. Luckily, they had lost the snake and could catch their breath and enjoy the small view finally.

"Tell me again why we didn't just kill that thing?" Zoro asked, gasping for air as he wiped his forehead.

"Because," Nami said, taking a deep breath, "if we had fought it, we would have been killed from a cave in!"

"I'm just happy we got away," Chopper said, collapsing onto the ground next to Luffy.

"Where are we know?" Robin asked, looking up. She could see trees from the hole, but the island was filled with trees.

"I would guess that we're on the other side of the mountain…" Zetsumei said, taking a few deep breaths before trying to stand to her feet. Suddenly she felt a small pain in her left leg, which made her wince and collapsed onto the ground again.

"Zetsumei-san!" Sanji said, immediately forgetting about how tired he was from running. He quickly rushed over to Zetsumei's side to help her, along with Chopper when he noticed. Sadly, the only thing he could do was help her prop herself against a rock.

"Are you all right, Zetsumei?" Chopper asked, looking to where Zetsumei was gripping her leg. He moved Zetsumei's hand away from her thigh as was a bit surprised to see a small patch of blood seeping through her jeans.

"Damn…" Zetsumei grumbled, scowling at the spot and having the scowl deepen when Chopper cut open a hole to see what was wrong. "And I just got these jeans too…"

"Now isn't the time to be thinking about that!" Usopp and Nami shouted when they saw what happened.

"She broke a stitch…" Chopper said searching through his bag. "It's nothing life-threatening, so she'll be just fine." Chopper took out some bandages from his bag and began wrapping her leg to keep it from bleeding any further. After that was done, he scolded her. "Zetsumei, you know your leg wasn't fully healed! You shouldn't have been running!"

Zetsumei grumbled as she glared at Chopper. "Well, I didn't have much of a choice, did I?"

Sanji listened as Chopper began telling Zetsumei off about any one of the others could have carried her and what not with her simply nodding in understanding. Sanji understood what Chopper was saying and he saw that the reindeer was concerned for her. Of course, Sanji being Sanji, he would have _loved _to have carried her instead of having her run herself and getting hurt again. But, it was unlikely anyone would have let him hold her.

Everyone suddenly looked at Zetsumei when she suddenly snapped at Chopper. "I'm not crippled, so stop treating me like I am!" After a moment, Zetsumei realized that everyone had their attention on her and she began regretting what she had said, but before she even had time to apologize to the hurt doctor, Robin had spoken up and changed the subject.

"Kitsune-san," Robin said, drawing everyone's attention towards her, "would you mind explaining to me a bit more about _Apus_?"

Zetsumei lifted an eyebrow at Robin. "There isn't much more I can tell you about it."

"Can you draw it for us?" Luffy asked, sitting down next to Zetsumei and looking at her expectantly.

"I-I guess…" Zetsumei said, blinking a few times at the idiot in front of her. He did know that she just snapped at them, right?

Zetsumei shook her head for a moment, looking around. "I'm going to need something to draw with…"

"Use this, Zetsumei-san," Brook said, giving Zetsumei his cane to use.

Zetsumei thanked him and used it to draw a small symbol on the ground. When she was done, she looked up to the others to see what they were going to say. She wasn't really surprised when she saw them all staring at the ground vacantly.

"Uh, Zetsu?" Usopp said, tilting his head to the side. "You were supposed to draw the Bird of Paradise…not a sideways 'L'."

"I did draw it," Zetsumei said, pointing to the constellation she drew on the ground. "That's what it looks like."

"Stop teasing us, Soumei!" Luffy shouted, grabbing the cane from Zetsumei and beginning to draw on the ground. "This is what a bird looks like!" When Luffy was done, he smiled widely ignoring the fact that Brook took back his cane before it could get broken.

"That's not a bird either, Luffy…" Sanji said, looking to the terrible drawn figure next to Zetsumei's 'star constellation'.

"_This _is a bird!" Usopp said, using his slingshot to draw a bird in the dirt.

"This isn't the time for a drawing lesson," Nami scolded, hitting the boys on the head. "We're supposed to be finding that treasure!"

"And what about the 'Scorpius' constellation?" Robin spoke up over Luffy's whining and Usopp's shouting.

Zetsumei once again used Brook's cane to draw the constellation. This time it looked like a sort of curled 'T' with the bottom almost turning into a 'J'.

"What is this supposed to accomplish exactly?" Zoro asked, crossing his arms due to his impatience.

"I thought that maybe our next clue would be within the shape of both constellations," Robin answered, looking down to both shapes. "But now that I see them, I don't believe that to be our case."

"Well," Nami said, putting her hands on her hips, "we don't have much time before that snake thing finds us here. And as of right now we aren't even sure that the treasure is hidden in this room."

"She's right," Zoro said. "For all we know the treasure could be hidden somewhere else entirely and this was only one step towards it."

Robin, having ignored the others, looked to Zetsumei once again. "Is there any information you can tell us about Scorpius, Kitsune-san?"

Zetsumei put a hand to her chin and thought for a moment. "Depends on what you want to know." Zetsumei scratched her head. "I don't know much though… All I can tell you is that the constellation got its name from the word _akrabh_."

"A crab?" Luffy questioned.

Zetsumei nodded. "Other than that, I know nothing."

"I might be able to shed some light on this," Robin said, smiling as she crossed her arms. "Scorpions were believed to be prompted crabs a long time ago. Supposedly scorpions evolved from water scorpions about 425 to 450 million years ago."

"That long?!" Luffy, Usopp, Chopper, and Brook shouted, their jaws dropping to the ground.

Robin nodded. "It's also said that is a scorpion bites your heel and you die, your soul will leave through your heel."

"Why the heel?" Sanji asked.

"Because the heel is the foundation-stone for the human body," Chopper said. "If your heel gets hurt, you'll immediately fall down."

"That makes sense," Nami said.

"Wait a minute…" Usopp said, making everyone look at him. "Water…"

"Scorpions…" Luffy continued.

"Nest?" Brook questioned.

"THE TREASURE IS UNDER WATER!" the three suddenly shouted, jumping up from their spots on the ground.

"Super!" Franky said, grinning before he frowned at realization. "How are we supposed to get it?"

Everyone turned to Zoro and Sanji, saluting the two with blank looks. "Good luck!"

"Like hell we're doing that!" Zoro and Sanji both shouted.

Before Nami could even begin shouting at them to get the treasure, everyone was caught off guard by a rumbling. They looked around and were surprised to see the snake had found them, along with three of its friends.

At first, Zoro, Luffy, and Sanji were on their feet fully ready to take on the four beasts by themselves. This was until Nami shouted at them in all her rage.

"Don't even think about it you two!" Nami said angrily, eyes ablaze. "You two are going to fetch that treasure!"

"Yes, Nami-san~!" Sanji chimed, swooning in his spot before willingly going over to the water.

Zoro scowled at the stupid chef and looked towards Nami. When he met her angry expression, he immediately sheathed his blades and glumly walked over to the water. He wasn't going to get on her bad side. He knew what happens if he did that, and if she didn't get her treasure she'd be even worse.

"And you!" Nami shouted, pointing to Usopp who shriek and immediately hid behind Brook. "You're going with them!"

"Why do all three of us have to go?!" Usopp complained.

"Don't worry, Nami-san," Sanji said, shrugging off his jacket as he waved his hand lightly. "The block head and I can handle this by ourselves." Zoro snapped at the comment but was completely ignored. The two soon dived into the water without waiting for Nami's instructions and what not.

"And what about these four?" Zetsumei asked, eyeing the snakes that hadn't moved. Zetsumei didn't hear an answer, so she looked back over her shoulder to see Nami, Usopp, and Chopper all hiding behind a rock, wishing the others luck with a thumbs up. She could only sigh at this. "Guess it's just us."

"Don't worry, Soumei," Luffy chimed, cracking his knuckles, "we'll take these guys out no problem."

That's when the snakes charged on the five.

* * *

After about a few minutes (with a few resurfaces to get air), Zoro and Sanji had resurfaced with a large chest only to find the place they had left only minutes ago in shambles. The walls of the cavern had been destroyed and the way they had come was blocked by rubble. On top of that, the bodies of four snakes laid scattered everywhere. It was amazing how they missed it with the few times they came up for air.

"Oh, hey, there you two are," Luffy said with a laugh as he jumped off one of the heads. "You guys manage to find the treasure?"

"Yeah," Zoro said, getting out of the water, "the thing was-" Before Zoro was even able to finish, Sanji's loud yelling cut him off.

"Zetsumei-san!" Sanji cried, running over to the semi-injured female. "Are you all right? I shouldn't have left you alone! But no worries because I'm here-" Before Sanji was even able to finish, she had kicked him in face, knocking him to the ground, and then stepped on him as she walked toward the treasure chest without even acknowledging him.

"SANJI!" Chopper shouted, running over to the unconscious chef and making sure his bleeding head was all right.

"TREASURE!" Nami shouted, running over to the chest and hugging it.

"I wonder what's inside…?" Usopp said, walking over with everyone else (even the doctor and chef that had just recovered).

"Let's find out!" Luffy chimed, breaking the lock.

Nami quickly opened the chest, eyes gleaming about what could be in it, and looked inside with the expectation that it would be filled with gold. Sadly, it wasn't filled with gold and it wasn't filled with beri's either, instead it was filled with books. Old, smelly, books.

"NO!" Nami cried, punching the chest numerous times as she began crying. "All that hard work and we get nothing!"

"That's not true," Chopper said, picking up one of the books, "we found all these new books to add to the library!"

"It's possible some of these books could be worth something," Robin chuckled, picking up a few books with her hands.

"REALLY?!" Nami chimed, looking at Robin like she was the god of all gods.

"Weren't you just complaining about it not being gold just a second ago?!" Usopp shouted at her, but Nami completely ignored it.

"It's like finding a treasure trove of books hoarded by pirate librarians," Zetsumei mumbled, picking up a book, just like everyone else was doing, and looked it over. When she saw the title of the book, Astronomy, her face immediately fell and she had the sudden recollection of someone she missed dearly. "Lewis would have loved this…"

"Who's that, Soumei?"

Zetsumei jumped a bit and looked down to see Luffy looking right at her with his curious eyes. She didn't think he would have heard her, and now she needed to make an excuse.

"No one," Zetsumei said, putting the book back in the chest, "just forget I mentioned anything." Zetsumei then looked back over her shoulder to the destruction they had all ignored. "Shouldn't we get out of here before everything collapses on us?"

As if finally remembering, all the Straw Hats looked at each other and then to the rubble of the grumbling walls that was getting worse by the moment. That's when they knew it was their queue to leave.

* * *

_About two days later on the open sea:_

"Hey, Soumei!" Luffy screamed, running into the kitchen with the paper in hand. "You have to see this!"

"See what?" Zetsumei sighed, lifting her head from the book she was reading at the table. That's when Luffy planted the paper right in front of her face and she couldn't believe her eyes.

"You've got your first bounty!" Luffy laughed. "And it's _really_ high!"

"What's this about a bounty?" Nami asked, just walking in with everyone else behind her for breakfast.

"Soumei's got a bounty!" Luffy said, showing the paper to the others before he even noticed Zetsumei's odd reaction.

"What is it from?" Chopper asked, trying to see the paper that Nami was holding and gawking at

"Maybe it's from that mountain she partially destroyed…" Zoro chuckled with a slight smirk, having pined all the blame of the destruction of Hakiyoku Mountain on her.

"I highly doubt a 500 million beri bounty is just because of the destruction of a mountain!" Nami shouted, showing everyone the paper.

"500 MILLION BERI?!" everyone screamed, even Sanji who had been in the kitchen this whole time.

Indeed that the number was 500 million, and it was _not _from the destruction of a mountain. In fact, no one knew why that number existed, especially saying as their captain only had a bounty of 400 million at most. Zetsumei, on the other hand, knew why she had that high of a bounty. The fact was, the Government wanted her gone and they were sending this poster out as a warning and message for aid in catching this "wanted criminal". But there was one thing that made Zetsumei found herself asking: How did they know she changed her name?

"I say we celebrate!" Luffy said, with a large grin.

"Uh, Luffy, I don't think you're seeing the big picture," Nami stuttered, but Luffy wasn't listening.

"You aren't asking the question of how the-" Zoro's mouth was soon covered by Robin's hands, along with almost everyone else's mouth that seemed to agree with what Zoro was saying.

"Now, now," Robin said with a light smile, "we should be happy for Kitsune-san instead of questioning it, right?" Robin let every go. Of course a few glances went around, questionably, but soon everyone (except Zoro) was smiling and agreeing with what Robin was saying. Although, I'm sure everyone still had a smudge of doubt still in the back of their heads.

Zetsumei was honestly surprised that everyone had just brushed off all the questioning thoughts like that, let alone that Luffy was continuing to go on about how he wanted to celebrate Zetsumei's large bounty. But she knew they were going to ask sooner or later and she either needed to be prepared to tell the truth or be able to come up with a believable lie.

* * *

**There is a reason for the 500 million bounty, and that will be explained later, but not now, just making things clear: Zetsumei's been a bad, bad, bad girl. Very bad.**

**Hope you enjoyed. See ya all next chapter!**


	14. Chapter 14

"What is this?" Zetsumei asked, looking to the box that was sitting on the table in front of her. She had just finished her "meal of love" as Sanji put it, and when she came back from the bathroom she found a box in front of her seat. She looked up towards the others, looking at their anticipating stares. She could only raise an eyebrow as question to what she was supposed to do.

"It's a present!" Chopper chimed, practically jumping up and down in his seat.

"Consider it a 'Welcome to the crew'," Nami said, leaning back in her chair and she held her mug.

"We never did welcome you to the crew," Robin said with a small smile.

"Better late than never," Franky chimed, raising up his arms.

"Plus," Luffy chimed in finally, "it's well deserved after you helped us find that treasure!"

Zoro scoffed. "Just because she helped us find a stupid treasure, doesn't mean we need to-" Zoro cut off when he was suddenly kicked in the back by the chef and sent head first into the table.

"Shut it, Marimo!" Sanji growled. "I won't allow you to insult Zetsumei-san any longer!"

"I wasn't even insulting her!" Zoro snapped.

"You were about to," Usopp, Brook, and Chopper all said, waving a hand in front of their faces. "You first out saying something like that and end in 'she can't be trusted'. It's the same every time."

Zoro could only glare at them, but even that lightened up when he knew they were right.

"I still don't think a…'present' was necessary," Zetsumei mumbled, picking up the box and looking it over.

"Of come on, Zetsu!" Usopp laughed. "Just lighten up and open it already!"

After looking over the box once more (as if checking to see if it was a trap) she slowly opened the lid. She was next surprised by a pair of black, fingerless, leather, gloves that seemed to button up around the wrist so they wouldn't fall off so easily. Zetsumei also noticed that the image of a dragon was hemmed on the fabric, there was also something that had been sewed into it, but she didn't know exactly what until she picked them up and looked them over further.

"We thought that after you busted your hand before," Chopper said, "that you would be needing something to protect them with."

"In case you're wondering," Usopp said, "we sewed in a piece of metal where the knuckles are."

"The metal was made out of some leftover scraps I had from building your new leg," Franky laughed confidently. "No matter how hard you try, you won't be able to break it. It's suuuuper durable."

Nami chuckled. "And instead of just having some boring gloves, Robin and I took the liberty of spicing them up a bit."

"What do you think, Zetsumei-san?" Brook asked, tilting his head to the side a bit.

Zetsumei was silent for a moment, putting on the gloves and flexing her hands a bit before looking up again with a straight face. "I like them. The thought is appreciated."

"That's a 'thank you', right?" Usopp asked with a small, blank, stare.

"All right!" Luffy said, jumping to his feet. "Now we need to test them out!"

"How are we supposed to do that, Luffy?" Chopper asked. "It's not like we have anything that she can bunch other than empty barrels and broken wood."

Luffy snickered. "She'll fight me!"

Everyone in the room froze and stared blankly at their captain. Was he serious? Apparently he was.

"No way!" Sanji shouted. "There's no way you can fight her! What if she gets hurt or worse?!"

"What do you say, Soumei?" Luffy asked, looking at Zetsumei with a large grin and ignoring Sanji's continuous shouting of objection. "Wanna fight?"

Zetsumei looked to Luffy's outstretched hand and lifted an eyebrow before giving a small hidden smirk as she began thinking this idea over.

"Luffy," Nami spoke up, "I agree with Sanji on this one. Fighting Zetsumei could be dangerous, for both of you."

Luffy looked to Nami with the same grin. "Oh relax. If we get injured Chopper can always patch us up again." Chopper shouted an objection, but was completely ignored.

"And where do you plan on having this fight?" Zoro asked, leaning back against his chair. "If you fight on the Sunny then you'll destroy the ship."

"What about the island we're near?" Robin asked, leaning against her palm. "I'm sure that'll be a good place to have this 'fight', wouldn't you say?"

"All right!" Luffy chimed, jumping up and down before looking at Zetsumei again. "So, what do ya say, Soumei?"

"I still object to this, Luffy!" Sanji shouted, furious.

"No one cares," Zoro replied, picking his ear before he and Sanji began getting into a fight about whether this situation should happen or not.

Zetsumei stood from her chair and looked at Luffy with the darkest smile any of the Straw Hats had seen on her face. It was as if she was _wanting _blood to be spilt. Zetsumei shook Luffy's hand and replied, "You're on, Strawhat."

"This is going to go terribly…" Usopp mumbled. Everyone around slowly nodded in agreement except Zoro and Robin, who knew this was going to be something worthwhile.

* * *

"Okay!" Nami said, putting her hands on her hips. "The rules are simple: First person who is unable to fight wins. Got it?"

Luffy and Zetsumei nodded from their positions on either side of the beach.

"Luffy!" Sanji shouted angrily from the sidelines. "I swear, if you injure Zetsumei-san, I'll kill you!"

Luffy frowned and looked at Sanji. "But how am I going to win if she doesn't get injured?"

"Forget about that, Luffy," Zoro said, crossing his arms. "Just beat her ass, all right?" Zoro was soon kicked by Sanji yet again who was in a fit of rage over this turn out.

"On your mark!" Nami shouted, raising a hand in the air. She looked to Luffy, seeing him getting a stance, and then she looked to Zetsumei, seeing her standing there rather calmly. "Get set!" Zetsumei seemed rather confident in herself, saying as she was calmly getting out a cigarette and lighting it. "GO!"

"Gomu Gomu no…" Luffy began, stretching back his arm. "Pistol!" Luffy then brought his arm forward to strike Zetsumei. He figured that even with a small attack as this one he would be able to hit her, but much to his surprise, he couldn't hit her. In fact, Zetsumei had grabbed his fist before he could even land a blow on her. Next thing Luffy knew, he had been thrown half way across the beach.

Luffy quickly stood to his feet again, looking towards Zetsumei as she calmly stood there, smoking with her back turned to him. He tried another shot at her, but it ended in the same way as before: him on the ground.

"Gomu Gomu no Gatling!" Luffy shouted, beginning his fury of punches. Sadly, much to his shock, Zetsumei had dodged every single shot.

"She's not even moving…" Usopp mumbled from the sidelines as he watched his captain give try after try at hitting Zetsumei. But each time he tried hitting her she either dodged or caught his fist and threw him. "It's as if she's glued to the ground…"

"Gomu Gomu no Rifle!" Luffy screamed. Again, Zetsumei dodged, ducking under his attack, and, with his close proximity, made her first counter attack.

"Suto Suto no…munetsuki… [1]" Zetsumei mumbled as she breathed out smoke. She formed a fist with her right hand and launched it towards Luffy's chest with considerable strength that sent the young man flying back to where he started from.

"Amazing!" Usopp, Chopper, and Brook all chimed.

"Super!" Franky laughed loudly. "She's stronger than she looks."

"Go Zetsumei-san!" Sanji swooned, cheering the older woman on in her fight.

"Shut up!" Zetsumei snapped at him, but he didn't give up and simply stated that her being angry was even lovelier than normal.

Zetsumei's attention went back to Luffy when she heard him sending another attack her way. A Gomu Gomu no Stamp!"

Zetsumei once again moved, dodging the attack with efficiency, and making another counter. This time Zetsumei took her fist and immediately punched the exposed joint between Luffy's ankle and foot, sending a wave of pain up his leg. But soon after hitting that one spot, she attacked again.

"Suto Suto no Whip Swing." Zetsumei brought up her hands and slammed them right over Luffy's ears, making him scream when they began ringing rather loudly.

"It seems our Captain is having some difficulty," Robin mumbled, putting a hand to her chin.

Zoro scoffed in reply. "He'll beat her."

"Gear Second!" Luffy said, heating his body before sending his attack. "Gomu Gomu no Jet Bazooka!"

This time, Luffy had landed a clean hit on Zetsumei, finally getting her off her feet and tumbling to the ground.

"See?" Zoro said, smirking when he saw Zetsumei tumble to the ground.

"All right!" Luffy cheered with a large grin.

"Damn it, Luffy!" Sanji shouted, throwing up a fist and shaking it. "I told you not to hurt her!" Sanji had to get held back by Franky in order to not run in and beat up his captain himself.

Zetsumei shakily stood to her feet, not expecting Luffy to have such speed. But even with the one hit, she was hardly affected by it.

"I finally moved you, Soumei," Luffy said with a laugh.

"Just because you moved me," Zetsumei said, getting into a stance, her legs spread with her left foot in front of her right, and her hands held up in front of her, "doesn't mean you've beaten me yet, Captain."

"Why do I get the feeling this is going to more than just testing out the gloves?" Usopp questioned, shaking in his spot.

Zetsumei closed her eyes and held her stance, not moving yet again.

"Gomu Gomu no," Luffy shouted, taking this opportunity to get the upper hand, "Jet Pistol."

Zetsumei quickly dodged the attack, as if sensing where Luffy was going to attack from, and as he was bringing his arm back, she quickly ran up to him and attacked herself.

"Suto Suto no Hichu [2]!" Zetsumei then punched Luffy right in his chest, directly below his throat. After that, Zetsumei continued to punch Luffy in his pressure points at an almost lightning speed. She first hit him in his armpits, which caused him lose all control over his arms and having them go limp. Then she hit him right below his lungs, which caused him to lose his breath for a moment. Next she hit him in the middle of his forehead, then his ears again, then his nose, temples, biceps, shoulders, inner creases of his arms, kidneys, and finally hit him in his knee joints and under his ear, which dealt the final blow. After that, all her movements stopped.

Everyone's eyes widened when they saw Zetsumei walking away calmly, leaving Luffy froze in his spot. That was until Luffy collapsed to the ground, still conscious surprisingly.

"W-What just happened?" Usopp asked as he watched Zetsumei pull out a new cigarette and light it.

"She hit his pressure points," Chopper said, stunned. "That's the power of the Suto Suto no Mi?"

Franky whistled, just as impressed as everyone else.

"How come I can't feel anything?!" Luffy shouted, desperately trying to move his body but was unable to do so.

"It'll ware off in a few minutes," Zetsumei said, sitting down in the sand and taking a long breath of smoke into her system before blowing it back out.

"Way to go, Zetsumei!" Sanji chimed, swooning over Zetsumei's amazing abilities and completely forgetting the fact that Luffy had punched her square in the face minutes ago.

"She just beat up our captain and you're congratulating her?!" Usopp shouted, his jaw dropping in shock.

"Sorry, Strawhat," Zetsumei said, blowing out another puff of smoke.

"What are you apologizing for?" Luffy asked from his spot. He had gained enough energy to turn his head to look at her, grinning widely like he usually did. "You did great! I would expect no less from a former Vice-Admiral of the Marines! I was right to ask you to join my crew."

Zetsumei stared at Luffy, not fully understanding the young man. She had just beaten him senseless, in front of everyone, and yet he was smiling and congratulating her. Most people would have told her to go to hell or worse. But not him. Not her captain. This made Zetsumei scoff and made a smile form on her face, just as she took another drag from her cigarette and blew the smoke into the now setting sky.

* * *

_**[1] Munetsuki: means "chest thrust". It's an Aikido move that consists of a punch to either the chest, abdomen, or solar plexus.**_

_**[2] Hichu: This is a vital point used in Karate attacks. The pressure point itself is located in the center of the lowest part of the neck, in the hollow (Bleach reference in case you didn't notice). **_

**Hope you all enjoyed, see you next chapter (hopefully it'll be a little cute scene between Sanji and Zetsu, because I feel like doing one…)!**


End file.
